Lucifer Rising: The Academy
by Jacob Rickshaw
Summary: RWBY and JNPR didn't expect to spend their summer on the run from a dark legend come to life. They didn't expect to meet Natal, the man with immense power but refuses to use it. And they sure didn't expect a silver-eyed figure to tell them that the world is not what they once thought it was. NOTICE: Cancelled
1. The Head and the Heart

**After some discussion with a few of my readers and much research, I have come to the conclusion that I suck at endings. And beginnings. And basically most of the points that make up a story. **

**So I give you all a warning: proceed with caution. The story you are about to read is highly confusing if you didn't read the Prologue, and even more so if you did. **

**As was well stated by one reader, "This is not a RWBY fanfic, it's like another story featuring team RWBY and JNPR." He's right. As I write this story, I begin to agree with professor Ozpin's statement during the first day at Beacon, "All I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose."**

**So if you come to this story expecting to find a pure RWBY story, stop. Exit the page, shut off your computer, and walk away. Do not pass GO, do not collect two hundred dollars. These are not the droids you're looking for, so continue your search somewhere else. **

**This is a story about what happens when your fate is changed, when what should've happened doesn't. It's the story of finding out that your life isn't the way that it's supposed to be, that someone else meddled with it, and you have to pay their consequences. It's about the what-ifs we ask ourselves, and a look into some of the deepest questions that man has decided to ask.**

**It's about humans, so how else could it be?**

**NOTICE: This story has been cancelled for the time being. Know that it is incomplete and probably will stay that way for quite some time.**

* * *

_Do not trust your heart, as it will never make up its mind. Do not trust your mind, as it has no heart._

Ren had never felt so emotional in his life. The weight of having to leave his home behind, saying goodbye to everything that he had known and heading on a vague and frankly impossible quest that was probably going to kill them all was getting very difficult to manage.

And Nora had bought him that instrument. Why had she gone and done that? She knew exactly how Ren felt about that kind of music. Why did she give him that tormentor? He knew that he would never be able to bring himself to play it. There were too many memories attached, too much pain.

Instead of holding back his emotions, he used them. He let his rage and pain fuel his legs as he charged forward. Trees and streams rushed past him, all at a breakneck pace. The world around him began to blur as he went even faster. Ahead of him, the sounds of battle grew louder, carrying with them a single screaming voice.

Ren jumped into a clearing and it seemed like everything slowed down. In front of him, a trio of Ursas was surrounding a lone Huntress standing in a stream, slashing, biting, charging at her. All around, small craters dotted the sandy ground. The Huntress stood alone in the water, her weapon crushed and misshapen. Fear filled the girl's turquoise eyes. One Ursa smacked its paw into her, knocking the weapon from her hand as she fell to the ground. It stood above her, raising its claw for a final, crushing blow.

At that point, Ren knew he had to intervene. He flung himself in between the two and used his Aura to shield the girl. The heavy blow knocked him back, but it didn't cause any serious damage. Ren slowly got up, allowing time for the Ursas to divert their attention away from the Huntress. "Nora, go." was all he said.

She nodded and ran back into the forest. _Good, _though Ren. _She won't have to see this._

Ren dropped StormFlower from his sleeves. He pointed both guns at the Ursas, who only growled in response.

"You nearly killed that girl," he told them.

The Ursas took a step closer.

"She's all I have left of my life before."

They were right in front of him now.

"You nearly took that away."

The lead Ursa stood on its hind leg.

"So, now you're all going to die."

Ren let loose a flurry of bullets into the Grimm before him. The soft fur of its underbelly offered no protection from the Aura-infused bullets of StormFlower. Blood spurted from the holes Ren made in the beast and watched as the bullets ate away at its flesh. The Ursa screamed in pain before falling over, lifeless.

He leapt into the air just as the other two slashed at him. He split his attention and fired at both beasts at once. One was lucky enough to roll out of the way. The other was shredded to pieces by the hailing bullets. The last one gave a roar of defiance at Ren before it too was cut down mercilessly. Even after it was dead, Ren continued to fire. Blood spurted from the wounds, some landing onto Ren's attire. It wouldn't have been easily noticed. It was already soaked from dozens of similar fights.

StormFlower gave a _click_ and stopped firing. _Out of ammo. _Ren realized. _Well, it's worth the lecture from Weiss._ He put his weapon away and walked off, leaving the mutilated corpses to rot away. He knew that he had changed, that he had become much darker than before. He didn't like it, but he also didn't know if it had been avoidable. W_hen you go through hell like we have,_ he thought, _how else do you come out?_

* * *

Ruby was exhausted. She had run out of energy long ago. Probably after day five of hiding in the Northern Cliffs. Now they were finishing day thirteen, and she couldn't handle it any more. She fell backwards onto her cot, and looked out at the afternoon sky.

The group had found themselves a good hiding place from the Grimm about twenty meters off the forest floor. It was a bit of a climb, but they were all able to make it. The cave they were using as a makeshift-shelter was about ten meters wide, fifteen deep, and four high. Plenty of room for everyone to have their own small sleeping space.

There were two cots by the entrance for their guards. Two people always kept watch, and if one got tired they could sleep while the other continued to keep a look out for Grimm. Team JNPR had set their beds a meter or so away in order to be readily available in case any of the creatures found and decided to attack them. Team RWBY was farther back, about ten meters into the cave. Weiss had made sure that they were far enough away from the other team so they could still have their privacy, which they all agreed with.

At the very back of the cave was Natal's cot. Normally, he would sleep alone in the back. When he found sleep scarce, he contented himself with acting as a third guard, watching over the others as they slept.

Recently, though, Jaune and Ruby had moved their cots so that they could join him. Neither of them found sleep easy to come by in recent weeks, so they had thought helping Natal would be better than sitting away the night.

It turned out to be no different. Although all three had begun sleeping _more_ since then, they still weren't sleeping _well_. Their dreams were filled with nightmares of the Grimm attacking, of losing friends, and more often than not, of Lucifer. Those dreams were horrible. Sometimes he was laughing, sometimes taunting them, other times threatening them or promising to enjoy their suffering. Although they believed it was still possible, none of them had dreamt another "meeting" since they had left Beacon.

Ruby turned her head to look at everyone in the cave. Weiss and Pyrrha were working on patching up Blake, whose wound on her arm was having difficulty healing. Natal was on watch, alone, staring out across the forest below. Jaune was in his cot, sitting and still trying to find a way to build the hilt for Natal's blade.

She smiled. It was kind of him to have offered to help her build Natal a weapon. Although Jaune had never built one himself, he was very enthusiastic and learned the basics quickly. He was having trouble making some of the parts collapsible for storage, though, and had spent the last few hours working on it.

Ruby looked up to see Yang over by team RWBY's section, watching her with a look of mixed pain and anger. Ruby shrunk under her gaze and looked away. She hated the rift that had been slowly growing between them, but at the same time she knew that the only way to prove to Yang that she could make her own decisions was to be as stubborn about them as her. Ruby couldn't stand doing that to her own sister, but she felt that it had to be done.

Yang got up and walked over to Natal by the cave entrance. She sat down beside him, crossed her legs, and the two began a conversation. Ruby couldn't tell whether she was trying to forget about the problem between them or was trying to mimic Ruby's actions to teach her a lesson. _Why is it that life, love, and family always have to be so complicated? _She thought to herself.

"Ruby," Jaune had turned from his little project and was now facing Ruby. She turned her attention towards him. "Have you seen Ren or Nora?"

Ruby scrunched her eyebrows together. "No. Now that you mention it, they should have finished scouting the cliffs by now."

Ruby heard Yang swear and focused her attention towards the cave mouth. Yang was leaning over the edge, reaching for something below Ruby's sight. Natal had gotten up and was holding onto Yang as she brought up something heavy. Pyrrha and Weiss quickly ran towards the cave mouth, bringing with them a homemade first-aid kit.

Ruby and Jaune dashed as fast as they could towards the group. The object of everyone's attention had just finished the climb into the cave. Nora was the first one up. She was badly beaten, blood pouring from a gash in her head, bruises and cuts all over her, and one of her arms looked slightly misshapen. Ren came up next, his normally pristine attire completely covered in blood, as it had been for the last few days. But even from this distance, Ruby could tell there was a fresh coating on it.

As she approached the two Hunters, she could hear Pyrrha and Weiss asking them questions as they directed Nora towards the makeshift infirmary.

"What happened?" Pyrrha inquired.

"I was ambushed by a pack of Ursas." Nora explained. "I was able to kill most of them before they broke Magnhild." The field-medics slowly set her down on the infirmary's cot. "If Ren hadn't shown up when he did, I think I might have died."

Pyrrha looked up at her quiet companion. "It looks like you've saved her, Ren. From the looks of it, she was only another strike away from death."

Ren shook his head. He knelt down next to Nora, putting his hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him. Unable to meet her eyes, he looked at Weiss instead. "You two just hope that she doesn't end up like this again. I'm all out of bullets."

Weiss continued to focus on the patient before her, using a wet towel to clean the gash on Nora's head while Pyrrha set a splint on her wounded arm. Her voice sounded restrained. "Just be glad Pyrrha was able to find some more metal today. Give us 'til tomorrow and we'll have a few magazines for you." She looked up at Ren, still keeping pressure on Nora's head. "_Please_ be more careful, Ren. We have to conserve what we can, or we may find one day that we have nothing left."

Ren nodded and stood up. After dusting himself off, he made his way over to where Ruby and Jaune were standing. "I think I've found a way past these cliffs." He told them.

Jaune motioned with his hand. "Go ahead."

"A mile or so east is a small pathway leading to the plateau above. It's about two feet wide, and zig-zags along the rock face all the way to the top. The footing looks dependable, but after a hundred meters or so up I can't be certain."

Ruby mulled that over. "That could be a problem. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Anything else that might be important?" Jaune asked.

Ren nodded again. "Near the base of the trail is a Nevermore nest. It's positioned such that we'll either have to sneak right past it or kill them all to proceed."

"How many are there?" Jaune questioned.

"By my count? At least four." Ren looked worried.

Ruby didn't blame him. It had taken all of team RWBY working together to kill just one during training at Beacon. Now they were up against four or more of them. "Stealth isn't an option. We don't have the skill to hide that well, and some of us seem to be more bloodthirsty than others."

Ruby knew that Ren wouldn't take it personally. She also knew that he understood she wasn't singling him out, either. The same had happened to Yang, Blake, and even herself. She sometimes found herself daydreaming of stumbling across a pack of Beowolves just so that she would have something to do.

"We can always go for surprise." Ren offered.

Jaune nodded. "If we got two or three of them down while they were sleeping, then we'd have a better chance at bringing the rest down as well."

All of a sudden, Ruby had an idea. Yes, it was a stupid one. Yes, it would probably kill them all. Yes, she was still going to try it out. "Guys, what if we rode the Nevermores?"

Ren seemed interested in the idea, while Jaune was simply confused. "You mean the same way you did during initiation?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, only this time, we're a bit heavier, and not lost." Ruby looked to her two comrades, hoping for some kind of approval.

Jaune shook his head. "It's crazy…"

"Ludicrous." Ruby shrugged.

"…dangerous…" he continued.

"Suicidal." Ruby affirmed.

"…and a little over-the-top…"

"Completely overboard."

"…But it just might work." Jaune gave her a thumb's up.

"I thought as much." Ruby gave him her best I-knew-it smile before she walked over to her sleeping space and began to pack, while Jaune gave the news to everybody else.

* * *

"Why did I ever let you put me up to this?" Weiss shouted over the wind.

"Because you said you'd had experience!" Ruby shot back. They both were gripping onto the Nevermore's feathers tightly as the beast ascended the cliff at a rapid pace.

"How much longer till the top!" Weiss looked down. They were already over two hundred meters up, and climbing.

"Let go in five…" Ruby tensed herself.

"What?" Weiss shouted.

"…Four…"

"Wait, you mean, let go?"

"…Three…"

"We'll fall hundreds of meters and splat on the ground, idiot!"

"…Two…"

"We are going to die. Why did I expect anything else?"

"…One…"

"Wait, what did you say?"

"…Now!"

Weiss let go of the Nevermore's feathers just as they cleared the top of the cliff. She safely landed a few meters past the edge and rolled to soften the impact. After she was sure of Weiss's safety, Ruby climbed up the giant bird's back.

It wasn't an easy task; the Grimm kept twisting through the air, spinning, making sharp turns, anything to throw her off. But between her tight grip and the thick matting of the Nevermore's feathers she was able to keep herself aloft.

Once she reached the creature's head, she used one arm to pull out Crescent Rose and put the blade of the scythe to the neck of the monster. "Sorry, birdie." She whispered before firing a shot.

The blade cut through the Nevermore's hide much more easily than it had during initiation. It felt like there was no resistance whatsoever. Just like cutting through butter. _Either I've gotten a lot stronger, or they've gotten a lot weaker._

Now this butter was headless, squirting blood, and flying at top speed into the cliffs. Ahead, she could see her friends waving from the plateau, four dead Nevermores around them. _Nice to know I wasn't the only one with an easy catch._ Ruby knelt into a launching position and jumped just before the decapitated bird crashed into the rock wall.

She flew through the air, feeling free for the first time in… actually, she couldn't remember the last time she felt this good. Closing her eyes, she felt the wind blow softly against her skin. She shivered from the chill of the mountain air, an electric buzz of excitement flowing through her. She let go of all of her cares and just floated, free from all of the angst and worry she'd dealt with for the past weeks. It was relieving, this heaven. It was pure bliss.

She opened her eyes to see that the ground was much closer than before. She'd overshot her team by a good hundred meters and was running out of empty space on the plateau.

Sighing, she extended Crescent Rose and stretched it downward, hoping to catch its blade in the ground. She was lucky. The weapon snagged itself and whipped Ruby down towards the ground. She braced herself for the hard landing. The crash jarred her, but after opening her eyes and giving herself a quick inspection, she decided it was nothing too serious.

She sat down and watched as her teammates ran towards her. Blake was the first one to make it. "You okay, Ruby?" she asked, arm outstretched.

Ruby grabbed it. "Never better." Blake lifted her off the ground and Ruby put her scythe away.

"I don't know how you do it, but you can't seem to get that smile off your face." Blake put her hands on her hips.

Ruby's face went red and she wanted to crawl under a rock. She was beginning to put her hood up when Blake grabbed her arm. "No. I like it." She said, beginning a small smile herself. "It gives me hope that things are going to get better."

Ruby gave a sarcastic laugh. "Unfortunately, Blake, we both know that it's only going to get worse from here."

Blake smiled even brighter. "Well that's what we're here for." She turned around and began to set up camp. "To make it better."

Ruby couldn't believe Blake had it in her to say that. Just as she was about to ask Blake if she'd just made a joke Jaune tackled her to the ground. He picked her up, and gave a loud _Whoop!_ "You did it Ruby! You did it! We're finally off those godforsaken cliffs!" putting her on his shoulder, he used one arm to help balance her and the other to raise his fist in the air. "Three cheers for Ruby! Hip-hip!"

"Huzzah!" the group chanted. Ruby began to blush again.

"Hip-hip!" Jaune thrust his arm into the air.

"Huzzah!" they shouted again, thrusting their arms high as well.

"Hip-hip!"

"Huzzah!" Jaune put Ruby down on the ground, to receive one well deserved shove to the ground. "Ow! Hey!" he exclaimed, getting back up.

"You know I hate the spotlight." Ruby crossed her arms and turned away, mostly to seem disapproving. But in reality she didn't want Jaune to see that she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"I know, I know. But come on, you deserved it! Have some pride in your work!" Jaune put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. She felt something like electricity flow through her, tensing her muscles and making her stomach do a flip-flop. _What was that? Is it… No, gosh I hope not. Bad enough Yang seems to have trouble with us the way we are. But… no, I can't, I just can't! He's a good friend, no, a great friend. But that's where I draw the line._

"Ruby, you okay?" Jaune had come in front of her, looking into her eyes. Those strange silver eyes of hers. _I wonder what Jaune sees in them. What's it like looking into my eyes, Jaune? What do you see inside my head?_ Then, out of nowhere. _Do you like it?_

Ruby shook her head, driving those thoughts from her mind. "Yeah, Jaune. I'm fine." She looked back into his eyes. His deep blue eyes. "Just thinking." She felt like she was in a sea of his emotions. Although there wasn't that much there. Pain, hurt, sadness, the expected if your life was taken away from you. But there was also caring, compassion, and strength. She could see it. But most unexpected, she saw something that seemed to dominate his mind, constantly nagging at him and driving him.

She saw desire. And as she thought over what exactly he desired, she saw her own reflection in his eye. _Wait, is that… no, that's impossible. He can't… but could he?_

Neither of them had moved. In fact, neither of them had blinked since Ruby last spoke. They were so intent on each other. So when Yang cleared her throat to get their attention they nearly fell over, they were so startled.

"Unpack. We're camping here for the night." Was all she said. She didn't even give them a glare this time. She just walked away, done with them.

"I guess we'd better set up shop." Jaune said, moving to set down his gear. For a moment, Ruby considered grabbing his hand and getting his attention. But what would she say? She couldn't even think straight anymore.

Looking around, she noticed that nobody was sleeping in teams anymore. Weiss and Pyrrha had set their cots with the infirmary, keeping themselves as close as possible to their equipment. Blake was with them, as her arm had opened up again during their ascent. Nora and Ren slept head-to-head a few feet away. Natal and Yang were lying down on the guard cots, looking up at the stars.

Natal seemed to be explaining something to Yang. His arms kept moving, like he was talking, and Yang sat quietly, listening to every word he said. Ruby smiled a little. Natal and Yang both seemed to be getting along well, almost as well as Ruby and Jaune were.

"Jaune?" Ruby tried to get his attention as she set her cot next to his.

"Yes?" he responded.

"Do you think that Natal and Yang know what they're doing?"

He looked up from his bed and gazed in their direction. "What do you mean?"

Ruby shifted her body just a little. "Like, do they know whether they're just friends, or do they think that they're in love, or what?"

Jaune was silent a moment. "Well, that's the funny thing about love, Ruby. You start off as just friends, then you become great friends, then you decide that you want to spend your life with that person." They both turned to look at each other. "And that's when you become best friends. That's what people who are really in love are. They're best friends who want to share each other's lives together."

With that, he lied down on his cot, and closed his eyes. "At least, that's what my mom told me. Goodnight, Ruby."

She went down on her cot as well. "Goodnight, Jaune."

And as the sun set behind the Western Mountains, Ruby's thoughts turned to Jaune. _Best friends who want to share their lives._ She turned in her bed and looked at him. _He makes it sound so simple._

_But why can't it be that simple, Ruby? Why do you have to make it so complicated?_

_It's not complicated! I just don't want to hurt anyone, not Yang, not Jaune, not anyone._

_You know you can't please everybody._

_I'm sure gonna try my hardest!_

_Ruby, you need to learn to let go._

_I know. That's what Jaune says, but it's so hard!_

_Letting go isn't hard. What's hard is choosing what to let go of. Don't follow your heart, as it can't make up its mind. Don't follow your mind, because it has no heart. Find the balance between the two, and choose wisely._

_Yeah, yeah… Hey, wait a second. Who are you?_

_Me?_

_Yeah! And what are you doing in my head?_

_Oh, I thought you already knew! My name's Summer, Ruby. I'm here to help._

_Oh._

Ruby found it difficult to keep her eyes open. They felt so heavy, and she felt so tired. So as she slowly drifted off to sleep, Ruby dreamt of Natal and Yang, of Jaune, and of Summer.

It was the best sleep she'd had in weeks.


	2. Angels and Demons

**Well, thanks to a scheduling mishap and multiple miscommunications, the first chapter of _Lucifer Rising: The Academy_ was posted a day early. But, instead of try to correct my mistake, I'm gonna roll with it. So here you guys are with Ch II. Hope you like it!**

**Also, I'd like to make it clear that I am open to any and all suggestions for plot ideas, as I am now at the point where filler-scenes or even whole filler-chapters are going to be necessary to keep this story going. Yes, I'm gonna make it that long.**

**And don't give up hope on the rest of the RWBY characters yet. Some of them might still worm their way in. You're only on Chapter II, after all.**

**But enough of me speaking, the Game is On!**

* * *

_Angels and Demons are not born, but made. They are forged in the Fires of Iniquity, shaped by the Hammer of Suffering, and sharpened by the Grind of Hardship. Out of this, either the most despicable or the most honorable of Men are crafted._

Lucifer walked between the various displays of his masterpiece. Around him, black spires slowly rose from the ground, pushing away the rubble covering them. Buildings lay in ruins, bodies littered the streets, and the "art" of the city... well, he had replaced it with his own idea of the thing.

The so called City of Vale had been swiftly demolished by his forces. They were completely unprepared for a night attack from the Emerald Forest. It had taken seconds the Grimm had broken through the first line of defense, minutes to enter the actual city, and then there had been a pause.

The humans assumed that they were the cause of this momentary lapse. They swiftly brought the rest of their defenders together and made a charge at the demons who'd invaded their city. How dare they think Lucifer's army could be defeated so easily!

So Lucifer spent some time toying with them. He created a wall of his shards aimed at the sprinting men. Few were able to stop in time to avoid being impaled. Most were not as fortunate.

The Grimm immediately began their assault, with Lucifer using his spires to collapse the buildings they passed. He was confident in his troops' abilities, but not stupid. He allowed no openings for the humans to flank or exploit an exposed gap. His army slaughtered the humans; he made sure they stayed that way.

When he became tired of the games, Lucifer simply grew spires in the bases of every building in the city, collapsing them all at once. The result was a devastating display of power. When the dust settled, no two bricks were left standing together, rubble was strewn through every street, and the bodies of men, women, and children lay crushed under the debris.

Lucifer brought himself back to the present. It was a few hours till morning, but the sun had put enough light into the sky to where he didn't have to use his night vision to see anymore.

Off to the side, he noticed that some rubble was beginning to stir. As he watched, a young girl emerged from the rubble. He guessed she was about nine, based on her height and the look of her face. You could tell a lot about someone from a good look at their face. She wore a dainty light blue blouse and a white skirt. In her short, brown hair was a little blue bow, just beginning to unravel. Her brilliant green eyes searched for a route of escape from her stony prison. She was completely covered in soot and ash.

The girl's foot seemed to be caught under a particularly large piece of rubble. She tried, in vain, to pull her leg out from the trap. Just when she gave up, she looked around and saw Lucifer, standing a few feet away. She immediately began to scramble backwards, and was jarred when her foot again caught under its trap.

Lucifer began to walk towards the young girl. He lifted his hand and the rubble pushed to the side. The girl got up and began to walk backwards, fear etched across her face. She turned to run, only to be confronted by an unusually large Beowolf. It bared its fangs at her, growling. She took a few steps back.

Turning to face Lucifer, it dawned on her that she was completely surrounded. Grimm had gathered together to witness what was about to happen. Saliva dripped from their mouths at the thought of a fresh meal.

Lucifer lifted his hand, and the girl slowly rose off the ground. She was suspended in the air, unable to control her body. Lucifer twisted his hand one way, and she twisted as well. He twisted the other way, and the frightened child did, too.

"Well, aren't you quite the catch?" He told her. The child's eyes went wide with frantic horror as she heard the unnerving sound of his voice. "Don't fear small child, you will not suffer long."

Suddenly, a shard broke through the ground and impaled the girl. Her once beautiful blue outfit slowly turned a sickly red. The girl screamed as she felt her life being yanked out of her. Lucifer dropped his hand and turned away from the slowly dying girl. "Dinner time has come. Feast yourselves."

Behind him, the howls, roars, and screeches of the many Grimm gathered rang out loudly. Lucifer continued to walk away; the sounds of growling beasts, tearing meat, and the bloodcurdling scream of the child fluttered like music on the wind.

A smile grew behind Lucifer's mask. _And so begins my ascension. Beware, mankind, for I am your new God. You may submit your prayers to whomever you wish, but know that only I will be there to accept them, and that they will only fuel the fire of my war!_

* * *

Yang wasn't as pissed off as she wanted to be, but she blamed Natal for that. He was far too kind, too compassionate, too sympathetic for Yang to stay mad around him. And it was helpful talking to Natal about it, as well. Although she didn't like it, Natal had defended Ruby's side of the story as well as he had defended hers. He walked a thin line, one that she didn't think she could ever walk herself. But it was effective in helping Yang understand what Ruby was going through.

They both lie down on their cots, looking up at the crystal-clear night sky. At the moment, they were both silent, but Yang was having trouble not trying to start a conversation with him. Just as she was about to break the silence, Natal did it for her.

"You see that star right there?" He asked.

Yang followed where he was pointing to see a bright star in the center of the sky. "Yeah, that's the Head of Arcenus."

"The what, now?"

Yang sat up, crossing her legs. "If you look at that star, there's the head, where you pointed. That star's the neck, that triangle's the chest. That string of stars reaching out? That's an arm. The other one angles down like that. His legs are right… there! He kinda looks like he's dancing."

Natal sat up as well, using one hand as a kind of support. "Who's Arcenus?"

Yang jarred her memory for the answer. "He's one of Remnant's ancient kings. Legend says that he was won his kingdom in a game of riddles with a King Taijitu." Yang chuckled. "Must've been one clever guy to win that contest."

Natal smirked. "Well, that figures." He pulled out his scroll and went back to the star chart he'd been looking at earlier. "Here's the view from Arcenus's perspective."

Yang took the scroll from him and looked at the chart. Her jaw dropped when she saw what was on the screen before her. "That's a…" she swallowed whatever it was that was blocking her throat. "That's one pretty unique constellation."

Before her, the stars were perfectly aligned in the shape of a hooded figure. Its cape flowed behind its body. One arm was outstretched, palm downwards, and the other was out behind it, as if the figure was using it for balance. Its feet were crossed as if it were just getting up from a curtsy. It was the most vivid constellation Yang had ever seen.

"It's called the Summer Maiden." Natal explained. "No one knows why she's the way she is. It's an unprecedented phenomenon. One of the Wonders of the Universe. And there," Natal pointed to a star in the center of the constellation. "There is her heart, appropriately named Remnant."

Yang looked at Natal. "Why are you showing me this."

Natal looked back up at the stars. "Maybe I'm just making conversation. Maybe it's my futile attempt to impress you." Yang blushed at that. "Or maybe it's because I think it's important. Maybe it's because I think you can keep a secret." He turned to look at her. "Maybe it's because I think you already know who I am. And maybe, just maybe, I'm asking for help."

Yang had already begun to guess who the strange knight was. If she was right, then she had to completely reconsider her evaluation of him. If she was right, then he was a lot stronger than he let on, and he was also more desperate than anyone she had ever met.

She nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"Keep it a secret, Yang. You can't tell anyone, not even your sister."

Yang turned back to look at the stars. It wasn't that much he was asking for, but she knew that it would be one of the darkest secrets she would ever keep. This rated at the mind-changing level, the one that would completely change your world if you let it.

A thousand questions filled her mind, and she found it difficult to focus on just one. "Natal?"

"Yes?"

She decided to start with the most obvious one. "Who gave you your armor?"

Natal was silent for a moment. It looked as if he was having trouble bringing himself to answer. Just as Yang was about to tell him to forget about it, he spoke.

"That's why I wanted to show you that constellation, Yang. I wanted you to see more than just stars."

Yang didn't understand a word that left his mouth. "Wait, what? What are you even saying?"

"I'm saying that that woman is more than just a legend in the sky. She's a real person, who's very, very much alive."

Yang was beginning to wrap her mind around what Natal was telling her. "Wait, you mean to tell me… you got… she…"

"Yes, Yang." Natal closed his eyes. "The Summer Maiden gave it to me."

* * *

Ruby woke up with a start. She was dripping with sweat and breathing hard, as if she had just escaped from a lengthy chase. She put a hand to her forehead to check her temperature. _Cool to the touch._

It was nearly morning. The sun still hadn't cleared the mountains, but there was enough light to see by. Ruby sat up in her cot, and looked around the campsite. Other than Natal and Yang, who were still on watch, she didn't see anybody else up yet. She decided that she was going to get up and pack before noticing Jaune staring wide eyed at the morning sky.

"Bad dream?" She asked, a playful smile on her lips.

"Try horrifying." Jaune put up his hands and looked at them. "I dreamed that Lucifer had caught a little girl from Vale and fed her to his Grimm."

Ruby's smile faded. "That's the dream that I had, as well."

"But I didn't just watch." Jaune went on, ignoring Ruby. "I was one of them! I felt her body rip to shreds under my hands. It was so easy, so… _contenting._ I, I _ate_ her, Ruby. And I enjoyed it. You have no idea what it was like to do that!" He let his hands fall to his head.

Ruby put her hand on his shoulder. "You're wrong, Jaune. I had the same dream, too." He removed his hands to look at her, a confused look on his face. "But I wasn't a Grimm. I was Lucifer." She closed her eyes, feeling guilt rush over her. "I killed her, Jaune. And I didn't even enjoy it, either. I simply didn't care! It was as if I'd done it hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of times before. It felt tiresome, _boring._" She fell onto Jaune and cried into his armor. "Oh, Jaune, I was so _heartless_!"

Still crying, Ruby wondered how no one else had woken up with her theatrics. She was completely losing it, and thought how awful it would be if anyone woke up to see her like this, drenched in sweat, sobbing over a little nightmare.

Ruby stopped crying and lay back down on her cot. She sniffled. A million things rushed through her head. Thoughts, worries, dreams, they all whizzed by, but only one thought was able to form itself in the midst of the chaos.

"Why did it have to be us?" She asked to no one in particular.

"The dreams?" Jaune tried.

Ruby waved her arm in the air. "Everything. Why did we have to be the ones to lose it all? Why did we have to be driven from our homes? Why did we have to be the only ones to survive? Why did we have to go on this impossible quest? There's over eight billion people living on Remnant, plenty more powerful than us, but we're the ones who are supposed to stop the end of the world! Every day we go through hell, and we keep on going. We're wearing down, and soon there will be nothing left. It's beginning to gnaw at us, the stress. Look at me, I'm losing control of everything! These dreams are becoming too much, and soon simply going to bed will be the same. We're just kids, how can we be expected to live up to such a standard?"

She knew he didn't deserve it, but Ruby had needed a place to vent her anger and frustration. Even her natural optimism could only take her so far before she began to despair. Jaune just happened to be the closest person to her when she hit the breaking point. She didn't expect him to answer, so she just closed her eyes and put her arm over her head, dreading when the rest of the group woke up and they'd have to move out.

So when Jaune did answer, she was taken completely off guard. "Ruby, we can't ask ourselves those questions. They make us doubt ourselves, make us feel as if we're not ready. We're leaders. We have to be strong for our teams. It doesn't matter how we feel. We have to wake up every day, knowing that it'll be worse than the last. But we still have to get up, we still need to have the strength to go on. And even though life will suck, and it doesn't get any better, we still have to give hope to our teams. Otherwise, why are we even going on this quest, if not for hope."

Ruby turned to look at Jaune, studying him. "How come you always have such great answers to my stupid questions?"

Jaune looked back at her. "They aren't my answers, they're yours. I just ad lib a little."

Jaune got up and began to pack his things. Ruby quickly followed suit and picked up her own belongings. By the time she had finished getting everything in her bag, she felt ready to face the day. And she had one big smile on her face that just wouldn't go away.

* * *

The camp had been packed by noon, and the group was walking along the plateau's edge. Blake led the group with Ren, who was holding the crumpled, faded letter that had the map of where they were to go.

"We've already gone off trail here," Ren said, pointing at a spot towards the beginning of the path marked on the parchment. "So what we really need to do is find out where _here_ is." He pointed to the symbol of a tower that represented their destination.

Blake looked ahead of her at the Western Mountains. They looked so close, like she could reach out and touch them. But she knew that they were hundreds of miles from their bases. She had a bad feeling that this little trek of theirs was going to be the death of her.

She nodded, agreeing with Ren's observation. She scanned the mountains before looking back at the map. "Isn't there supposed to be a valley here?" She pointed to the other side of the tower. Ren nodded. "Then we need to find the group of mountains that's big enough to hide it."

Now that she knew what she was looking for, she again looked at the mountains, trying to find a set that could hide a massive valley from view.

"There." Ren said, pointing. Following his gaze, Blake recognized the mountains that he was referring to.

They were a set of three mountains, closely packed together so it was difficult to see beyond them. Just between their lowest peaks, however, you could see tips of other mountains in the distance. _I can't believe he noticed that without enhanced vision. _I_ couldn't even have found it without him pointing it out. Ungh! Why am I so worked up over this?_ Blake moved her head around and heard the popping sound of bones moving back into place.

She was tired of feeling like this. Watching everybody else have all the adventures – Jaune and Ruby with their romance that they were completely oblivious about, Yang and Natal with whatever it was that was growing between them, Ren and Nora's constant life-and-death situations out on the field, and Weiss and Pyrrha's never-ending work with the infirmary – it made her jealous. The most excitement Blake had gotten into was falling out of the cave during watch and cutting her arm against the rocks. Her bandage wasn't even good, the wound just kept opening and the wrapping became bloodier and bloodier.

She had obviously begun to obsess over her arm because Ren tapped her on the shoulder. "That might stop bleeding if you added some pressure."

Blake shrugged. "The bandage was supposed to be enough pressure in and of itself. I'll just wait until Weiss changes it again."

Ren nodded towards her head. "You could always use your bow to..."

"No." Blade responded, far too quickly and harshly.

Ren just nodded and kept walking. Blake knew that her secret wouldn't matter now that the world was coming to an end, but she felt that she had to keep some drama for herself. Otherwise, she felt like she would be the odd one out._ My being normal is the only thing making me different. How poetic._

* * *

Michael sat down, watching the figure pacing before him. He was about six feet tall, with raven black hair and silver eyes. He was a thin man, barely fitting in his own clothes. He wore a baggy blue shirt and white a white belt. His legs and arms were covered in ribbed silver armor, giving the impression that he was in authority.

Michael tapped his staff on the ground. _Tap._ "You know I'm right, Gabriel. The legend's wrong."

Gabriel waved his hand in Michael's general direction. "Bah, what do I know? I was told that the legend was true, and that a team of ten humans would venture out to defeat Lucifer when he rose up again." He stopped his pacing and turned to look at the robed figure. "But there are only seven humans in that group, and including beasts, they only add up to nine! I am not even sure if one them really is human or not."

"You're definition of human is getting narrower by the century." Michael stood up and walked towards his friend. "There's nine there, alright. I should know. I checked."

"That still doesn't account for the fact that there should be ten. You know that there's not enough. That Faunus shouldn't even be there in the first place. She's a mistake, and she's ruined the prophecy! And don't get me started on that one Hunter. We shouldn't even be counting that Grimm!"

Michael had his staff to Gabriel's neck before he had a chance to blink. "That Hunter is not a Grimm. You know that, I know that. There's a soul there."

"The soul doesn't mean anything, anymore. That's all Lucifer is, is soul. Yet he's still a Grimm." Gabriel met Michael's eyes. "You can see it in the eyes, Michael. There's something there that shouldn't be. She's one of them."

Michael let a smile sneak into the corner of his mouth. "You sure? Are you absolutely sure of that?" He pulled his staff away from his friend's neck.

Gabriel gave the hooded warrior a quizzical look. "What do you mean? Of course she's one of them. That's the only possibility! You can't get those eyes naturally, you only get them if you're part Grimm or if you're born…" He stopped dead in his tracks. "She didn't."

Michael let out a hearty laugh. "Yes, my friend, she did."

The silver warrior didn't seem to find it as funny. "But, that's not possible, the Maiden would never do that to anyone. It's cruel, it's heartless! To think she contracted the same disease as Lucifer, poor Soul."

The robed figure leaned on his staff for support. "Oh, passion isn't a disease, Gabriel! It's an _emotion,_ a gift mankind was given that we struggle to find within ourselves. Looks like our Maiden simply found it before the rest of us did." He pulled himself up to his full height. "So, now whose on the team?"

Gabriel calmed down and cleared his throat. "Let's see, we have seven humans,…"

"…a Faunus,…"

"…and_ two_ Warriors." Gabriel smiled. "Now that's just not fair to old Lucifer, is it?"

Michael smiled as well. "No, not fair at all. But if he thinks that he can take on this world, let him come! We'll just have to show him exactly what it has to offer!"


	3. In the Eye of the Beholder

_Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder. But what makes a good Beholder? Is it his notice of the details of his subject? Or his understanding of its basic parts? Or even the appreciation of the finer points of its substance? No. What makes a good Beholder is that he can see the soul of what he studies, and can find joy in it even when no one else can._

Yang was walking a fine line between no longer giving a rip and breaking down in front of everyone. If she no longer gave a rip, then she was done trying to help Ruby. If she was going to break down, it was going one of two ways. If the chips fell one way, she was going to find Ruby and beat the stupid out of her. If they fell another way, then she was going to find a rock, curl up under it, then cry herself to sleep.

Ruby had run off with a complete stranger. Well, it wasn't technically the first time, but she should know better by now! And now she begins to get all cuddly with Jaune? _First off, that's just wrong. You don't go all lovey-dovey on your friend like that, or your relationship could quickly become very one-sided. Second, you can't just turn a simple question about it into a life altering decision! _All Yang had wanted to do was talk to Ruby about what she was doing, see if she really was falling in love or just trying to be a good friend. She was only trying to do what she thought was best for her. _There's Dad talking again. Dammit, mom! Where were you her whole life! I sure could've used the help! We all could have._

But Ruby had taken the offer as an accusation-in-disguise. _Did I really mean it that way? No, I can't have. Ruby's just overreacting, that's it. She'll come around. She always does._

In the time it had taken for her mind to process this, Yang had fallen down onto her knees. _Okay, Yang, you've chosen to give a rip, now how is this gonna play out? We gonna kick some ass or what?_

_What if Ruby doesn't come around? What if she takes this too far? What if she sees this as me vs. Jaune? Oh my god, what if she chooses him over me?_

She felt a tear fall down her cheek. _Crap, we're bawling. Where's that rock I was looking for, earlier?_

Her hand hit the ground in front of her and she felt a sob coming. Well, she didn't really feel it, more like she just watched as her body was ripped from her control. She felt distant, like she was watching a play featuring herself, and only stood by as events unfolded before her. _Man, I really have lost control of myself. This is so weird, it's so not like what the movies said it'd be like._ She continued to explore this new state of mind as her body was racked with emotion. After what felt like minutes, the blonde grew bored of hearing herself cry. _Okay, playtime's over. Time to knock some sense into that girl._

Yang's tears came to a sudden stop as she retook control of her body. She slowly rose up off the ground, head still looking down.

"Yang?" Blake asked. "Are you okay?"

The tear trails began to evaporate from her skin. Her hair began to glow a reddish color, and she felt her eyes burning, like they did whenever she got angry. She smiled. _I'm going to teach that punk to never overreact again._

_Yang, you do see the irony of that ultimatum, don't you? Now, please, can we stop being punny and just go beat something up? _

Yang was about to sprint after Ruby when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Natal was gripping her arm tightly. He was in a new set of armor, a blue, streamlined form that had no openings or breaks, as if the metal moved with his body. Down the skeleton of the armor were black stripes. The only possible points of breaks were on his wrists, where something like a streamlined version of Ember Celica rested. It reminded her of some sci-fi movie she'd watched as a kid. "Come on, Yang, we've got a trail to catch."

She tried to pull her arm away, but his grip was too strong, so instead she went for a punch at his face. Firing her gauntlets for some extra _umph,_ she landed a solid blow on the guy's nose. He released his hold on her and slid backwards a few feet, dropping his hand from his face, she saw his nose had started to bleed. Yang growled at him. "Get outta my way." She snarled.

Natal drew his sword and moved into a stance she'd never seen before. His straightened his back leg and leaned forward, bending the one in front. He held his sword behind him, parallel to his leg. His other arm was bent in front of him, as if he was shielding his face from something. His hand made an L-shape with his first two fingers and thumb. "You wanna fight, Yang?"

She punched her fists together, "Hell yeah I do." She sent a shockwave of fire out from her. "Let's dance."

They charged towards each other. Yang tried to draw first blood with a hook into his face, but he used his lead hand to push her arm away from his head. She felt the full force of his shoulder smack into her chest. She was knocked over and went back a few meters. She smacked into the ground hard, but barely felt anything. She kicked herself up and was back on her feet before Natal had a chance to move in and strike with his sword.

Well, at least that's what Yang would've done. But Natal was still where she left him, now holding the sword with both hands, tip pointed at her. "You think you're so great just 'cause you can block a shot?" she yelled at him.

She jumped at him, fist drawn back for a jab at his face. He rolled out the way just in time. He swung his blade from his shoulder, and she deflected it off Ember Celica. Going for his gut, she feinted a shot with her left arm and crossed with her right. The moment she felt her knuckles make contact with Natal's armor, she fired, blasting him backwards.

He used the momentum from the shot to smack his sword into the ground and rotate on the hilt, kicking Yang back. He freed his sword and swung and upward slice, followed by a crosscut and finished with an overhead strike. Yang barely deflected the first two and caught the last between her gauntlets. "Not in the slightest." He told her. It only succeeded to make Yang madder, and she kicked him away.

She began to fire at him, forcing him to run parallel to her. Her shots caused the ground under Natal to explode, clouding his vision. Just as Yang fired the last round in her clip he circled around her and jumped inwards, now behind her with his blade up to her neck.

"I'm not a good fighter at all." He said.

"I'll say." She ducked down and jumped backwards into the knight, pushing the blade away from herself. She spun around, reloaded, and began launching volley after volley of blasts into him. Most he dodged, but a few made contact, pushing him back. After Yang had again cleaned out her weapon she sprinted at him, readying her fist for a massive blow. As she swung at the black-and-blue warrior, he stepped inside her reach, her blow flew past him.

They stood so close, and if they hadn't been in the middle of the battle it might have looked somewhat romantic. He smiled. "I'm just good enough." He brought the pommel of his sword into Yang's chin, making her reel backwards. Natal had again appeared behind her, now with his arm around her neck. Yang struggled for air against his grip, but couldn't break the hold. _I'm going to die here. _She thought.

_Oh, you're such a drama queen. He's not gonna kill you. I think._

Yang brought both of her elbows back hard, causing Natal to loosen his hold her throat, and, coughing, fired a special round into the ground beneath her. The fiery explosion blasted her upwards, and Natal was thrown back. She finally stopped hacking and smiled at the thrill the battle was giving her. She hadn't been in a fight this intense for a long while, and she was relishing it.

Natal was getting up from the ground when Yang landed almost on top of him. She had landed over his hips, legs split apart, and was pointing half of Ember Celica at him. "You surrender yet? Or is this gonna have to get ugly?"

Natal smirked at her. "Go ahead, do your worst."

Yang shrugged. "Have it your way." She pulled the trigger inside Ember Celica's casing, preparing to blast the kid into next week.

_Click._

Her eyes went wide as she realized that she had none of her ammo left. She'd spent her emergency rounds on that big explosion that had gotten her here in the first place. _Crap…_

Natal stood up and dusted himself off. "Well, that was interesting." He stretched his hand out to her, offering to shake. "Good fight."

Yang was at first confused, but then shook her head before grabbing his hand. "Yeah, you too."

Then she felt Natal's grip tighten and looked up just in time to see his other fist connect with her face.

* * *

She woke up some time later, both lightheaded and with a splitting headache. She groaned. When she opened her eyes she saw the blue-and-black metal of Natal's armor. She felt something shift by her legs, and realized what was going on.

"I always imagined that I'd have either been mugged or have fainted to get into this scenario." She grumbled out loud.

"Well, which happened, then?" Said a feminine voice.

Yang shrugged. "Probably mugged." She reached up to give a pat to Natal's back. "Nice shot, Tron."

"Thanks." He twisted his shoulder, and Yang felt herself sliding off. What she didn't notice, however, was that Natal's arms weren't there to catch her, and she smacked onto the ground.

"Gah, that hurts." She got up and stretched her back, feeling the joints pop all along her spine. She noticed they were just over the edge of the Northern Forest. She guessed they were trying to walk its perimeter to find an opening somewhere. "How long was I out." She asked.

Natal looked at his fingers. "I don't know. Two, maybe three hours?" he shrugged and began to walk away.

"You're kidding, right?" Yang ran to catch up with him. _Man, he's quick._ _Either that or I'm getting out of shape._

Pyrrha walked up beside her._ Oh, that's who that voice was._ "No, he's not. We were worried about you for a minute there, but considering prior events, we decided it would be better for everyone if you stayed unconscious."

Yang scratched the back of her head. "Uh, thanks, I guess?" She turned to Natal. "So, where's this X we're looking for?"

Natal handed her the map. "I wish it was that simple. We have to find wherever this is." He pointed to where the path started. There was a symbol of crossed swords, and under it there was some scribbled writing.

"The Battle of Vale." She read. _What in the world is that?_ She handed the parchment back to Natal. "It still kinda looks like an X."

"Have any idea where or what it is?" he asked.

She shook her head. The action made her momentarily dizzy, so she blinked rapidly and tried to walk as smoothly as she could until it passed. "Never heard of it."

"It's not on any map or history book we've seen, either." Pyrrha added. "It's as if it's been erased from history."

Natal sighed. "Well, we're back to square one."

Yang looked ahead of them and saw light break through the trees ahead. "Maybe not…" She ran ahead, ignoring her growing headache.

"Wait!" Pyrrha called after her. She chased after the quickly shrinking blonde.

When Yang finally broke from the woods, she stopped just a moment to enjoy the scenery. It was a wide meadow, full of tall grass and wildflowers. Birds flew through the air, chirping their songs. The sun seemed to shine brighter here than it did in the city. Even the air seemed clearer. _Nice to breathe in some fresh air every now and again._

Pyrrha caught up to her and gasped when she saw the landscape. "It's…"

"I know, pretty neat, huh?" she grinned.

"It's magnificent!" the Amazon-looking girl exclaimed. "Who knew places such as this were here in Vale?"

Yang looked at the ground in front of her. "Hey look! A plaque!" she bent over to read it. Natal walked up just as she began.

"Here is the assumed spot where the Warrior first appeared. It is also assumed that it was His last. During His final fight alongside the humans to drive off the Grimm, they unleashed the Dust. The Grimm were defeated, and man rejoiced. But the Warrior nowhere to be found. This plaque is here in memorial to Him, and in celebration of his efforts to help us."

"I like it." Natal said. "Short, sweet and to the point."

Pyrrha tapped his shoulder. "Send a message to the others. Tell them we're here."

Natal nodded. "Yes, m'lady." Pyrrha blushed at the comment and turned away.

Yang lay down in the grass and looked up at the sky. "Ima get some rest. Wake me when you need me."

"You sure do bounce back fast." Natal commented.

Yang mulled over the idea. _For now, but I have no idea how I'll react when I see those two again. I hope I'm not too bad. Who am I kidding, it'll be great! I mean come on, how bad can I be?_

_Do I even need to reply to that?_

_No, you don't. But seriously, how bad can seeing them again be?_

_Yang, you know that you just jinxed yourself. _

_Oh, shut up, me._

* * *

Yang was wrenched back to reality when Natal an iron-clad snapped his fingers in her face. "Hey, earth to Yang. Hello?"

"GYAAH!" she nearly fell over in surprise. After a brief moment where she recovered her balance, she gave the knight a solid punch in the arm. "What the heck, Natal? Can't you tell when someone's daydreaming?"

"Yeah, I can." He pointed in front of her. "That's kinda the point."

There wasn't much where he pointed. It was just a blue sky, puffy clouds rolling across it, and a spectacular view of the ocean below… _Wait, ocean?_

It occurred to Yang that she had nearly walked off a cliff in her reminiscent state. She paled, at first, then her color returned in full force. She leaned over the edge. It was a good hundred or so meters up. "Personally, I'd thank you, but I have a feeling the rest of the team isn't going to be so like-minded."

"Bah, who cares about them." Natal smiled. "But if you feel so strongly about it, I could give you a push." He grabbed the collar of her shirt and pushed her just enough that she had to rely on his grip to keep from falling.

"You're horrible." She crossed her arms and pouted. "I didn't even get a _chance_ to do something wrong! Can't we just start over? Please?" She put her hands together, like she was begging him.

"Alright." As he pulled her back, she swung her fist around to try and land a blow on his face. But she passed him before her arm was able to clear her shoulder. She flew backwards through the air, her swing caused her to spin wildly and completely disorienting her. When she finally hit the ground, she had no clue which direction up was.

She heard the sound of footsteps and tried to wake from her daze. She was unsuccessful. "Another maiden in distress, I see." Yang was unable to respond. "Ungh, do I have to carry you, now?"

Yang felt his arms reach under her as she was lifted from the ground. She shook her head and tried to reorient herself. After some effort, she was finally able to speak again. "I'm nobody's maiden, and I sure ain't distressed!" She tried to squirm free.

"In that case…" _Plop!_ "…You can walk."

Yang struggled to get her feet under her. When she was finally able to stand, she felt dizzy, but otherwise normal. Natal was already walking away.

She jogged to catch up with him, and spun around, walking backwards in front of him. "Come on, Natal. I was only kidding." She put on her best "Hello I'm clueless!" smile and continued. "Let's make up!"

"And how exactly do you plan to do that? Kiss me?"

"Uh, yeah, actually. How'd you know?"

Natal sighed. "Lucky guess. But you'll have to try harder than that."

"Okay, then. Why don't we hook up!"

"That escalated quickly."

"So?"

"Nope, harder."

"Wow, tough crowd. What's better that having a wonderfully bright and beautiful Blondie who also happens to kick ass as your GF?" Yang began shadow boxing in front of him. "Most people would just _die _to have that happen. Just a touch of my hand, and I'll turn your life to gold!"

"I'm not most people. Besides, you seem like you're more trouble than you're worth. Harder."

She stopped right in front of him, forcing him to look down at her. Now that they were so close, Yang realized that she was a full three inches shorter than him. "We could make a pact."

Natal tilted his head to the side. "A what?"

Yang turned around. "You know, a pact!" she took a few steps before turning around again. "We both promise each other something, and then we shake on it." She held out her hand, serious now. "I, Yang Xiao Long, swear to help Natal Rickshay find his way back home."

"You don't wanna make that promise." He told her.

"Uh, yeah I do. Why else would I be offering it." She shook her hand a little. "Well, don't leave me hanging!"

He at first looked at her with doubt, but then he bowed his head and shut his eyes. "On your life." He whispered.

"Say what?" she leaned in, trying to hear better.

"On your life!" he demanded. Looking up, she saw that his eyes were beginning to water. "You make a promise like that and I swear I'll hold you to it. You make that promise, you keep it. And if you back out on it, ever, even for a single second, I will break you so hard not even little Ruby will be able to pick up all the pieces." He clenched his fists tightly. "You're gonna keep that promise, or I swear, I will end you."

Yang considered taking back what she had said. After all, she had only been setting him up for payback.

_Yang, he's desperate. Can't you see that? You can't say something like that to him and then just go 'jk, I was just pranking you! Hahaha. Now we're even.'_

_I had no idea this meant so much to him. Can I really pull through on this?_

_Wait, you mean you're not going to just take it back?_

_No._ She decided. _I can't pull that kind of prank on him, but I also can't go back now. I've done enough damage already, I might as well try my best to fix it._

She looked straight into Natal's eyes, sober as a grave. "I, Yang Xiao Long, swear on my life to help you, Natal Rickshay, find your way home. If I must go to the ends of the earth, I will. If I have to search the stars for your answers, I will. If I have to leave everything behind just to make sure that you find your way back, I'll do it without hesitation. I swear, on my life, that I will get you home, even if it kills me."

Natal grabbed her arm, and she his. They locked them together in a warrior's shake. "And I, Natal Rickshay, swear on my life that if you, Yang Xiao Long, are ever in need of my assistance, I will be there. I will never betray you, never lie to you, and I will never turn my blade against you. Without your permission, of course." He smirked at her. "You have my word."

And they shook on it. Yang felt as if the weight of the world had just been placed on her shoulders. She'd just made a promise that she wasn't entirely sure she could keep. _But I'll be damned if I don't give it my all. Besides, I got my own little henchman out of the deal. How cool is that!_

_Just remember that your "little henchman" will kill you if you don't hold up your end of the bargain._

_Oh, lighten up, will you?_

_Just pointing out that you still need to watch out._

_You're no fun, you know that?_

_So I'm told…._

She looked at Natal, a smile creeping on her face. "Harder?"

Natal shook his head. "Nope." He began wiping his eyes. "We'd better get back to camp. They'll probably be wondering where we are right now." He nudged her with his elbow. "Wouldn't want your sister getting the wrong idea about us, now would we?"

Yang rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. "That's just messed up."

"Hey, you were the one who said it." Natal countered, dusting himself off. "I'm just the messenger."

Yang thought about that for a moment. "I did, didn't I. I wonder if it'd really be as bad as you say it'd be."

"You're persistent, aren't you?"

"Just something to think about." Yang began the long trek back to camp, nearly a mile away.

Natal sighed. "Maybe you're right," he said to himself, watching Yang walk away. She had almost gotten out of earshot.

_Almost._


	4. Hope for the Hopeless

_There is always Hope, even for the Hopeless. Because even when life takes away everything you know, drops you off in the middle of nowhere, and tells you 'Sianara,' there's always the chance that someone else got dropped off with you, and there's reason enough to keep going._

Ruby wiped the sweat from her brow as she helped Jaune put the circular rain guard into Natal's new sword. If they could just get this last piece in, then they would be finished with the project, with plenty of spare parts left over. "Are you sure that it's facing the right way?" She asked him for the ump-teenth time.

"Yes, Ruby I'm sure." He twisted the cap-like part into its slot. "See, it just needed a different approach." He sat on his legs and looked at his masterpiece. "The first weapon I've ever built, and it is one of the most dangerous one's here." He smiled at Ruby.

Natal's new weapon was a four foot long Greatsword. Its split blade made up three of those feet, the blue steel shining brightly in the evening sunlight. Between the blades was a rifle barrel, aimed towards their tips. The sword had a steel rain guard with green edging where the blade met the hilt, and angling out of it were the cross-guards. They drew towards the sword's dual tips before sharply turning perpendicular to the blades. The grip was made of leather, but was surrounded by two iron arcs extending from the rain guard and meeting again at its base, forming a circle. Along one side of the sword, a black-and-gray metal sheathing covered the blade for a foot or so. As a sword, it looked wicked.

But both of its inventor's knew that there was even more to the weapon when you pushed the buttons on the grip. The weapon would transform into its rifle mode, where grip rotated perpendicular to the blades. The cross-guards folded back to cover the hilt, and the sheathing rotated to become a stock. The already split blades extended their separation and drew back into the weapon a few inches. They revealed Dust-filled tubes extending from the hilt into the barrel, giving a blue glow to the weapon. Firing the gun in this state would reveal its semi-automatic rate of fire and fairly large recoil.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's because if it works it could blow a pack of Beowolves to bits in one shot, and if it doesn't it'll wipe out the camp in one fell swoop." She pulled out her compacted Crescent Rose and hugged it. "Nothing my sweetheart couldn't do."

Jaune stood up and picked up the blade, still in its sword from, and wrapped it in a cloth he had prepared. "Man, this thing is heavy." He grunted. "Let's get it over to Natal before I drop it."

Ruby stood up as well. "Yep." And the two walked towards the center of camp.

They had pitched their tents in a clearing near the cliffs facing the Bay south of them. They were surrounded by trees, which both Blake and Ren had protested as potential points of ambush, but the rest of the group had ignored them. They liked the view, and it seemed that there were scarcely any Grimm around for miles. Plus, a few meters away from their camp was a small pathway down to the beach below them, where they could finally wash themselves for the first time in weeks.

By the time they finally reached the campfire pit that Nora had made on their first day, Natal had already seen them. He sat with Yang on one of the three logs surrounding the pit, talking about _something. _Ruby no longer cared about what her sister thought of her and Jaune, and she knew that Yang would try to bring it up if they let her, so she ignored her sister as Jaune stood in the center of the camp, calling for everyone to gather around.

Once everybody had finally found a log to sit on or a place to stand, he began. "Natal, you've been with us for over a month now, helping us clear a path through the Northern Forests, cross the Jade River, and pass through these cliffs." Everybody nodded in agreement. "You've helped Ruby and I lead our teams, and you've helped us all to become a stronger group." Again, nods and grunts of consent. "We can barely begin to express our thanks for everything you've done."

"Speak for yourselves," said Yang, grabbing Natal's arm and leaning in. "I've got my own special way to thank him."

Everybody laughed at that as Natal pushed her away, saying something that sounded like "Harder."

Jaune cleared his throat and the clamor died down. "Back to what I was saying, it's hard to find a way to thank you that isn't… weird," He shivered as Yang scooted closer to Natal. "But Ruby and I did our best with… this!" He pulled the cloth away and lifted Natal's new blade in the air, revealing it to the crowd.

Their reactions were a mix of wonder and awe. Natal immediately stood up, mouth slightly parted in fascination. The massive Greatsword glowed blue in the evening light, and the rain guard's greenish metal gave off a soft light. The glint of the sunlight gave it a pristine look, like it had come from the future.

Jaune lowered the blade as Natal took a step forward. Jaune handed him the weapon, one hand on the hilt, the other on the blade. Natal put his hand over the grip, but hesitated for a moment, looking as if he was going to pull his arm back. Then he grabbed the sword and lifted it high into the air. Immediately there was a flash of light and the sound of metal grinding against metal.

When Ruby had gotten the stars out of her eyes and could focus again her breath was completely taken away by Natal's new form. He wore a thin, gray trench-coat with neon-blue lining. His shoulders and elbows were covered with small steel guards that matched the color of his sword. He had on a dark gray undershirt partially covered by a blue steel chest piece. Black pants with steel kneecaps adorned his legs. On his feet were black steel-toed combat boots with neon-blue soles. He looked imposing, to say the least.

Natal laughed a long, joyful laugh. "Ha-ha, this is awesome!" He spun in a circle, letting the coat swirl around his legs. "Absolutely incredible!" He turned to Jaune and Ruby. "You don't mind if I take out my new gear for a spin, do you?"

Unsure of whether he was talking about the sword or his new outfit, they both shrugged. "Go ahead." Ruby told him. "Just don't break anything too valuable."

"In that case…" He ran towards the cliffs, hitting Yang's shoulder as he passed her by. She got up, a wicked smile crawling across her face, and giggled.

The group followed Natal in a daze, not entirely sure what was going on. Ruby was sure that she would have a horrible headache tomorrow when she woke up.

Reaching the Cliffside, Natal and Yang stood nearly twenty meters apart, facing each other. Natal leaned into his charging stance; sword arm behind, open arm in front, hand making an L-shape. Yang put one foot back, and both hands in front of her face. "Ready to finish our dance?" He called at her.

"I've been waiting for some payback." She leaned her neck from side-to-side, making gross popping noises. Ruby felt her skin crawl.

Both fighters rushed at each other, Yang feigned a jab over Natal's open arm, but quickly crossed and pounded her fist into his stomach. He twisted with the shot, lessening the blow, but not by much. As Yang brought her leg up and over his head to kick downwards, he fired a shot from his sword at her. It blew him backwards and out of the way while also catching Yang by surprise. They slid away from each other, no noticeable wounds on either of them.

Natal made a whipping motion with his sword and it changed to its rifle form. He went down on his knees, put his arm against the stock, and fired. Yang rolled out of the way of his first blast, got up, and began using her own shots to knock his out of the air. Natal, seeing that his strategy was going nowhere, ran in for a strike, weapon still in rifle form.

Around Ruby, the rest of the group was already making bets on who'd win. It seemed they were evenly split, as both sides shouted equally as loud, with the occasional exception of Nora shouting "BREAK HIS LEGS!" But Ruby wasn't as interested in their antics. She was far too focused on the fight in front of her.

Natal used his blades like claws, slashing them at Yang. The blonde barely jumped away in time. She fired a few shots at him, which he was able to deflect with his weapon's sword form. He jumped towards her, striking with a flurry of movements. She dodged, deflected, and blocked what she could, but she had to give ground in order to keep herself in the fight. Natal paused and began again, leading with a slice, followed by a crosscut and upward swing, then finishing with a heavy downward strike propelled by a blast from the barrel.

Yang blocked the first attack, deflected the second, dodged the third, and caught the final strike between Ember Celica. "So, we're back to where we started, aren't we?" Yang commented.

He increased his pressure, preventing her from kicking at him or risk losing her balance. Ruby noticed that Yang had her feet on the edge of the cliff, her footing treacherous. _Oh god, Yang!_

The two stayed locked in place, neither able to make an advance on the other. "Anything new you wanna try?" Natal said through his teeth.

Yang's foot slipped, but she caught it before it had a chance to go over the edge. It cost her precious inches. "Got one thing, if you'll make good on your promise." She told him.

"You're insane."

"Point being?"

"You'd better hope that sand is soft."

"Well, it's about to be." Yang fired Ember Celica, forcing Natal back and launching her off down the cliff.

Natal jumped after her, trench-coat swirling behind him. Ruby and the others all ran to the edge, looking down. Neither were anywhere to be found.

Ruby was just about to start crying when she heard giggling behind her. She, along with everyone else, turned to see Natal sitting cross-legged on a log, Yang in his hands. Both of them were wearing the stupidest grins Ruby had ever seen.

"Wha… how did you… But you were… and then he…" Ruby was at a complete loss for words to describe her confusion. It didn't matter anyways. The two were far too busy laughing at the surprise everyone had on their faces. Natal got up and set Yang down, who did a little curtsy to her audience as he gave a dramatic bow.

Jaune laughed at the two and began to clap. Nora, not wanting to be outdone by anyone else, also began frantically clapping. Soon the rest of the group, including Ruby, had joined in. Someone whistled, and Yang grabbed Natal's hand and lifted it high into the air. They were all so caught up in the moment.

Ruby heard something that sounded like crashing in the distance. "STOP!" She shouted causing everyone to go quiet.

There it was again. _Crash! Crunch! Smash!_ The sound was getting closer.

"Guys," Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose. "that doesn't sound too friendly."

Around her, teams RWBY and JNPR brought out their weapons. Blake and Weiss moved behind Ruby who was moving to the side, while team JNPR walked in the other direction.

_Boom! Crash! SHRIEK!_ Blake removed Gambol Shroud from its sheath, dual wielding its halves, while Weiss changed the Dust in Myrtenaster's chamber. Ruby cocked her gun and waited.

Suddenly, a Death Stalker crashed through the trees, screaming as loudly as it could. It charged towards the first people it saw, which happened to be Natal and Yang. They immediately drew their weapons. It continued to barrel at them, knocking their little campsite to the ground. They jumped out of its way as it smashed its claw down where they had stood just a second ago. Natal came up with his gun pointing at the beast and fired a quick burst at it. Yang began to shoot Ember Celica as well. The shots only seemed to make the giant scorpion enraged.

"NOW!" Shouted Ruby, and both teams charged. Weiss, Ruby, and Jaune sprinted towards the beast, hoping to get within striking range. Blake jumped in the air, throwing Gambol Shroud at the beast. Pyrrha was down on one knee firing bullets from Miló at its eyes. Ren sprinted past her and jumped on one of its claws, trying to reach the stinger. Nora fired grenades into the air around it, forcing the creature to stay put.

Just as Ruby had a chance to swing Crescent Rose, Weiss used Myrtenaster to freeze one of the Stalker's claws in place. Jaune then jumped in to deflect a strike from the other claw aimed at them. Blake used her shadow clones to strike its back side, keeping it in confusion. By this time, Ren had gotten up to the segment between the stinger and the rest of the tail and was firing full force into it. Pyrrha had taken two eyes out already, and the constant bombardment from Nora, Natal, and Yang seemed to be keeping the creature from advancing too far. For a moment, Ruby believed that they were going to win with little to no casualties.

But then the ice holding the Grimm's claw was shattered, knocking her, Weiss, and Jaune backwards. The scorpion swung its tail downwards, launching Ren into the ground in front of it. Natal, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora stopped firing, afraid they might hit Ren. Instead, they all their weapons into their melee forms and ran towards the monster.

Ren tried to get up, but fell. "Hang on, Ren!" shouted Nora, who swung Magnhild onto the ground to give her a speed boost.

She wouldn't make it in time. They all watched in horror as the golden stinger continued its approach towards Ren. Just as it was about to smash him to pieces, Gambol Shroud hooked around a joint of the tail. Blake yanked hard to the side, pulling it away from her teammate. But it wasn't far enough. The Stalker's bulbous appendage slammed into Ren's shoulder. "AAAAAAAAAGGGGHH!" he screamed.

Pyrrha tossed her shield Akoúo̱ at the stinger, severing the already weakened connection. Nora smashed her hammer onto its head, screaming. The bone armor that covered the Grimm's face cracked. Jaune stabbed at the creature's eyes, blinding it. Ruby smashed Crescent Rose into the ground and fired down on the beast. Those that had ranged weapons used them as well, unleashing a rain of bullets, Dust, and Aura onto the monster.

After a few seconds, the shrieking stopped. The fire continued. Then, the thrashing slowed. The fire continued. The body stopped flailing. The fire continued. Finally, the only sound was that of everybody reloading their weapons.

"REN!" shouted Nora. She tried to pull up on the stinger, but it was far too heavy for her to lift. Natal and the rest of team JNPR ran over to help, finally lifting it and tossing it to the side. Pyrrha called for Weiss, and she ran towards the huddle, closely followed by the rest of team RWBY.

"Back away, people!" Weiss shouted.

"Move aside!" Pyrrha ordered.

They picked up Ren and moved him over to the infirmary. Once they had set him down, they immediately pulled together all of their resources. Ruby was able to catch a glimpse through all the chaos.

At first glance, Ren didn't look too bad. Maybe a bit winded, but otherwise he seemed fine. That is until you looked closer at his right arm. His shoulder was bleeding profusely, and a large portion of it was missing. His right hand was pale and lifeless, obviously beyond recovery.

"Pyrrha, his entire arm is destroyed." Weiss said. "I think we might have to just get rid of it."

Pyrrha shook her head. "We can't do that to him. He battles two-handed, and removing that ability would make him worthless." She looked at Weiss. "I don't know much about him, but I do know that he'd find it very difficult waking up only half the man he was." She turned back to her medical gear.

Ruby felt useless. As people around her left, she began to lose herself in thought. She wanted to help her quiet friend, but she had no idea how to heal people or ease their pain beyond a few comforting words. She wished that she could be as good with people as she was with weapons. They were so much easier to fix, they had parts and pieces that could be replaced and upgraded and…

Ruby gasped loud enough to draw the attention of both of the girls, who were just about to wrap a bandage on his arm. "Guys, I think I can help fix this!" She blurted.

Weiss groaned. "Ruby, this is not the time. Can't you see Ren is dying? We have to cover this wound fast before he bleeds out."

Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet, excited. "How long would it take you to un-heal it?" She asked.

Pyrrha tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I was just feeling so useless, because I'm not all that good at fixing people, then I thought how weapons were so much easier, because they had parts and little pieces and made sense, then I thought, 'why can't people be like that' and then I realized we had spare parts from Natal's sword and thought 'why can't I use those' and I had this idea and it was really cool and I freaked out and then you guys freaked out too and it was kinda scary and basically I think I could build Ren a new arm." Ruby gasped for air before looking to her audience. "So, whaddaya think?"

"Ruby," Weiss began. "That is possibly the craziest idea I've ever heard."

Something dawned on Pyrrha and she snapped her fingers. "But it might work!" She turned to Ruby. "If you can build it quickly and help me install it, I think that we could give Ren a bionic arm."

"Got it!" Ruby sprinted out of the tent. She spotted Jaune nearby, and grabbed his arm as she passed him. He yelped.

Ruby reached the pile of parts and began to put some together, forming a metallic hand. "Ruby, what exactly are we doing here?" Jaune asked.

She turned to him and smiled. "We're building Ren his very own robo-arm!"

Jaune nodded and began picking at parts. "Of course, we are."

* * *

They finished late the next morning, surprisingly awake considering their lack of sleep. They walked into the infirmary to find Pyrrha sleeping on ground by a pile of bandages. Weiss, on the other hand, had curled up against Ren in her sleep, and was loosely holding onto him.

Ruby tapped Weiss's shoulder, trying to wake her up. The white-haired girl stirred, then looked up at her teammate. "Wha…"

Ruby pointed at Ren. At first, Weiss didn't understand what was going on. Then she looked at her hand, which was laying on his stomach. She immediately jumped back, as if she'd found a snake in her bed.

Ruby and Jaune giggled, earning a sneer from Weiss. "Never speak of this. Ever." Weiss threatened before getting up and walking away.

It took some time to rouse Pyrrha, but after a few minutes, some poorly made coffee, and a light breakfast she was ready.

"Jaune, I'm going to need you to sit by Ren's head." She pulled out a surgical saw and placed it on Ren's arm. "Because he's unconscious, he can't use his Aura to heal himself. You'll need to use yours to keep him from bleeding out."

Jaune gulped. "Got it." He sat on his knees and put his hands on either side of his teammate's head. "Ready when you are."

"Ruby, you'll need to align the bones in his shoulder with the synthetic one's you've built into you're design." Ruby put the bionic appendage on top of Ren's real one.

Pyrrha turned to her patient. "And I'll be cutting him open for you." She put the saw against the little flesh that kept the arm and shoulder together. "Ready?" she asked.

They both nodded, and the Amazon yanked back on the saw. It was much less gory than Ruby had imagined it would be. Blood slowly flowed from the wound and onto the cot below, as if it had become thicker and slower.

"Good job, Jaune, just hold on."

Pyrrha finished cutting the arm from the rest of the body, and pushed the detached appendage to the side. "You're turn, Ruby."

She maneuvered the ball-end of her fake arm into where the shoulder's socket was. When she tried to push it in, it bumped into something. "Pyrrha, we have a problem. I think the socket is blocked up."

Pyrrha pushed the metal contraption out of the way and reached into Ren's shoulder. "Here we go." She yanked out a sphere-shaped bone and tossed it aside. Ruby again pushed the arm into the socket, and it snapped in.

Pyrrha put her arms on Ren's chest. "Now, Jaune, I need you to concentrate. We have to close up this wound quick, or Ren is going to die. You need to focus. Don't worry, I'll help you."

Ruby noticed that Jaune was glowing with a white Aura. His face was twisted with concentration, and his head jerked to the side every once and a while. Pyrrha began to glow as well, a deep red color. Ruby was fascinated by it, but not as much as when she looked at Ren's shoulder.

His body was beginning to grow around the metal. Muscle conformed to the shape of her contraption, blood vessels ran along its course. The skin closed up around it, completely healing his shoulder.

But that was as far as the healing went. Jaune released his hold on his friend and nearly collapsed. Pyrrha was able to stabilize herself, but even she looked somewhat woozy. "That looks to be the best we can do." She placed her hand on Ren's chest. "I hope that it is enough for you."

All three turned when they heard sobbing from a few feet away. Nora was standing over them, looking at her life-long friend. "Oh, Ren!" She jumped onto his unconscious body and squeezed it. Looking up at Jaune and Pyrrha. "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She hugged them. It was obviously uncomfortable, as they both grunted as Nora squeezed them.

"And you!" Nora turned to her next victim, Ruby. "Thank you for fixing Ren for me!" She gave her a massive bear hug.

Ruby twitched. "I think you're crushing my spine." She whispered. Nora let go and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Thank you so much." She sniffled.

Pyrrha stood up and helped Jaune off the ground. "Why don't you two get Nora back to her bed. I think me and Weiss could handle it from here." She looked around, noticing that her fellow physician was missing. "Actually, could you tell her to come and help me. She seems to have gone missing."

Ruby and Jaune gave a little giggle before promising they would. They helped get Nora back to her cot, where she passed out. Ruby saw Weiss sitting by the crushed campfire, alone. She walked over to her and sat down.

"Are you okay, Weiss?" she asked.

Weiss stared into the dying embers of the fire. "I'm just… I don't know, _done_ with it all, you know?"

Ruby nodded. "I know the feeling."

"I mean, how long are we going to be on this stupid quest anyways? I'm tired of living on the run, eating what we catch, and going for weeks without bathing. It feels so, so draining. I just want to go home, curl up on my bed, and never get up."

Ruby stared into the fire. "Where do you live, Weiss?"

The heiress was startled by the question. "What?"

"I asked you where you lived."

Weiss turned back to the flame. "I lived in Vale, before we all came to Beacon. My house was over in the business district. My father was so preoccupied with business that he moved into the warehouse that my grandfather had originally built to store the Dust he made. It was converted into a mansion, complete with training halls, conference rooms, and its own business office." Weiss went silent for a moment. "I always wanted to be a part of whatever it was that my father was doing, but he never let me be a part of his life. He was all work, and no play."

Ruby felt that sink in. _Gah, she's gone through so much._ "Do you think that your house is still there?"

Weiss thought it over for a moment before responding. "No, I guess not. We all saw what that Lucifer creep did to Beacon. Why couldn't he do it to Vale, too?"

"Weiss, we've all lost so much, and although we want to go back to the way things were, we know that they never can." She turned to look at her partner. "We have to learn to make the best of what we have. Life sucks sometimes, so what? Life sucks all the time. Just because it gets rough now doesn't mean it won't smooth out later."

Weiss met Ruby's eyes. "How do you stay so optimistic, Ruby Rose?"

The redhead shrugged. "It's my curse."

They both laughed at that, although it wasn't really that funny. Ruby guessed they were both just trying to relieve their stress.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Why do you think Professor Ozpin made me leader?"

Weiss was silent for a full ten seconds. Ruby was about to give up hope when she finally spoke up. "Because you can keep your team strong. Because you can give them a reason to keep fighting. Because you give your teammates hope." Weiss gave her friend a smile.

Ruby returned the gesture. "Thanks, Weiss."

"Don't mention it."

"Speaking of that, Pyrrha wants you to visit the infirmary. Said something about Ren needing you to keep him warm, and she needed to check on you for 'lovesickness' or whatever."

"You're such a child."

"Why thank you."

While Weiss left to go visit Pyrrha, Ruby continued to stare at the dwindling embers. _'Give them hope,' huh?_ She looked towards the Western Mountains, to where she though the Tower was. _I pray hope will be enough._


	5. Bonds

**Before we begin this next chapter I'd like to address something that has come up. I've been receiving a few reviews and PM's about this story, and I'd just like to put something to rest.**

**There is no filler to this story. Whatsoever. When you read this story, you may find yourself thinking that some parts may not be as important as others, but that is where my illusion lies. I warned all of you that this story wouldn't be normal, that it would be about people, and their lives, and what happens to them. Every word in this story is just as important to the plot as the last. Everything is there for a reason. Because it isn't in the great, important, dramatic events that our lives center around. It is the little things – the quiet nights, the peaceful mornings, the beautiful sunsets – that we find ourselves facing every day. **

**What happens during our everyday is what shapes us, what make us who we are. Practice makes permanent, as an old friend once told me. So it is the things we practice – our kindness, our hope, our love – that define us. So I hope to put forth the little things that each of our beloved characters do for one another to let you see who they truly are.**

**It isn't just something to fill empty space, it's where the story really happens.**

**Thank you for your attention throughout my rant. Without further ado, I present to you the next chapter of The Academy.**

* * *

_The bonds between us and those around us are some of the most important things in our lives. Without them, we have no one to laugh with, no one to cry with, no one to love, no one to hate, and most importantly we'd have no one to be there for us in our time of need._

Blake and Weiss were sitting on the guard cots, overlooking the Bay before them. Neither spoke to each other, which was perfectly fine with the Faunus. If her teammate didn't want to say something, then there was nothing for them to talk about. So she found other ways to entertain herself.

Blake had pulled out one of her books, and was in the middle of reading one of the more interesting chapters of the fiction when the white-haired girl decided to speak up.

"Fine, Blake. I was wrong, you were right." She admitted, obviously unhappy about it.

Blake hummed her approval and kept reading. She had no idea why her friend was apologizing, but she decided to let her answer the question for her.

"This place was a bad spot to set up camp." Weiss hung her head. "It looked good. It had a large area for us to sleep, room for a campfire, even beach access."

Blake's bow twitched at that. _Focusing on the luxury again, I see._

"But it wasn't worth what it cost Ren! He would be dead if you hadn't caught the stinger, granted, but he still lost his arm. If Ruby hadn't built him that replacement, I'm not sure if he could've kept going with us." She wrapped her arms around her legs. "I can't help but feel responsible."

Blake put down her book and looked out over the water. She was silent for a moment, gazing out across the Bay. "It's such a beautiful view." She finally said.

The distraught girl rested her head on her knee. "Yeah, it is."

They continued to watch the waves crash against the shore far below. Blake searched for the right words to say, hoping to encourage her friend. "Weiss, I don't know a lot about this quest. What we're doing, where we're going, what we hope to accomplish on it, I have no idea. But one thing that I do know is that this," she motioned towards the scenery before them, "this wasn't your mistake. Just to have found a place where we could stop being heroes and be normal teenagers again – where we can lay aside our weapons and pick up our friendships – that was well worth everything that has happened in the last few weeks." She looked at her friend. "What I'm trying to say is thanks. Thank you, Weiss. You've given us a chance to be who we are, and I can't think of anything I'd want more." She gave her a soft smile. "And I'm certain that Ren would agree."

Weiss turned to her feline-friend, wiping a tear from her eye. "Thanks, Blake."

"Don't mention it. So how's the romance getting along?"

"What?" Weiss looked completely shocked. "There is no romance whatsoever! Ren is just a friend, that's it." She crossed her arms, trying to keep what dignity she had left.

"I never said anything about Ren." Blake pointed out, smiling.

The heiress fumed. "Why you insufferable little..."

Blake giggled. It felt strange, like she was experiencing it for the first time in a long, long while. _Weird. _"Calm down, princess. You're as bad as those two." She pointed at Ruby and Jaune, who had walked up some time during their conversation.

Weiss turned around to see them, and had a miniature heart attack. Ruby and Jaune, not at all surprised at Blake's detection skills, had instead tried to deny any romance between themselves. Blake just laughed at it all, and soon the rest of them joined her.

After they had quieted down, Ruby was the first to speak up. "How'd you know about Weiss and Ren?" She asked her teammate.

The girl shrugged. "It's one of the few things Ren talks about when we travel. It seems to distract him from his worrying and calms him down. Let me guess, you saw Weiss sleeping on him again?"

Weiss's face reddened. "How dare you insinuate such a thing! I'll have you know that I was extremely tired from helping Pyrrha heal him when these two dolts found me, and the other time was entirely Ren's fault! He never should have put his bed so close to the infirmary, or I never would have rolled onto him."

Blake purred, making a little kissy-face with her mouth as Ruby and Jaune tried to hold back their laughter.

"You mean that Snow Angel here is a repeat offender?" Jaune _tsk_ed. "The poor guy, being used like that in his own sleep!"

Weiss whipped around to face the two, some hair falling onto her face. "You two are no better, sleeping alone, away from the camp. You're always so caught up with each other, never able to keep yourselves apart. I've even caught the two of you watching each other sleep!" She pulled the stray hair back into place.

The redhead shrugged. "At least we're trying to figure out what it is that's going on between us. It isn't as black-and-white as you'd think."

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "It ain't easy. We're slowly finding out that things aren't the same as they were at Beacon."

Ruby sighed. "It's complicated."

Blake looked at them, serious once again. "At least you're open and honest about it. But I have a feeling that this isn't why you two came here in the first place."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, actually, we're here to tell Weiss that 'her knight in shining armor needs immediate attention.' Pyrrha's words, not mine!" Jaune added the last part as the woman lashed out to hit him.

"You're all despicable." She said as she dusted herself off and walked to the infirmary.

* * *

Michael recognized the familiar atmosphere of the Soul Bond. It was pitch black around him, and he stood in the center of a small ring of light. His hood was up, protecting his identity from anyone watching, yet the Warrior felt bare under the harsh light. "Is this really the time, Lucifer?" He questioned the shadows.

The demonic presence stepped forward, under the light. He had on a black cloak that covered most of his body, an unusual addition to the animal-like man. His silver eyes darted across the room, looking nervous. Finally they settled on the hooded Warrior, and he seemed to calm down.

Between them and to their right was a display. It was typically shrouded in darkness, unnoticed, but now it glowed with a feed of the Hunters at their camp. A white-haired girl was storming away from a group of them, but otherwise they all seemed to be acting normal. Yet both of the room's occupants knew there was much going on under the surface.

"Then you know why I called for this meeting." Lucifer answered, turning to watch the footage. "This world is not where I fall. My end lies yet in the future, at the hands of your Commander." he shuddered.

"All that means is that there are fewer restrictions for both of us." Michael countered calmly. "Which means I have the authority to strike back at you without shame of undue repercussion."

"Yet we must both still request of the Commander to take action." Lucifer scoffed. "Why he doesn't simply end me is far beyond my comprehension. He could have avoided all the strife I've caused his precious humans." He clenched his claws. "Yet he does nothing."

Michael rested his hand on the shoulder of the beast. "Comrade, you know the answer as well as I do. He still gives you a chance. He believes that you can still be redeemed." Lucifer shrugged his shoulder away from the touch. "But we all know that you will never accept that offer."

"I am no longer your comrade. Now, we are enemies, equal yet opposed." The Grimm continued to gaze at the screen. "The humans suffer, Michael. I grow tired of waiting for the end. I slaughter now just to amuse myself, but the feeling is no longer as strong as it once was. These people are destroyed by me, I relish in it, then grow bored and begin again."

"Do I hear regret in your voice?" Michael teased.

"Make it pity. It is a tragedy that they must be caught up in our struggle."

"Yet you deem it necessary."

"All is fair in love and war, my rival. Speaking of which..." The screen changed view and zoomed to focus on a young girl wearing a black blouse and skirt with red lining. She had black combat boots and leggings that matched the rest of her outfit. On her belt were bullet casings, magazines, and a silver rose emblem. Her short, dark red hair rustled softly in a breeze.

"Ruby Rose." Stated Michael.

"I have only recently learned of her... nature." Lucifer took his time finding the right words to express his sentiment. "It is quite intriguing that the Commander has allowed such a thing to exist, especially after what happened the last time another like her was found."

Michael shook his head. "This is not what you believe it is. She is something completely different from anything we have encountered. The Commander lets her walk her path because he believes that it will make for a greater tale than any of us could imagine."

Lucifer chuckled. "Always the poet, the Commander."

There was silence for some time as they watched the girl go about her business, unaware of her observers.

"She doesn't know, does she?" The Grimm asked.

"No." More silence.

"It seems my time here is drawing to a close, Michael." He turned to the Warrior. "Anything else you wish to say?"

Michael continued to watch the girl. "You asked why I still use her. Now, I will answer you." He looked into the silver eyes on the display before him. "I was given the authority to use whatever is at my disposal to stop you on this world. Although your time comes later, on another world, the Commander refuses to allow you to lay waste to these people while you await your destruction. She is the greatest tool I have to bring about your defeat here. And you will be defeated, mark my words."

Lucifer nodded. "A pity she won't be around to see that day." He turned sharply, swirling his cloak behind him. "Enjoy your pawns Michael, and see how many still stand when I'm through with then. Say 'goodbye' to your queen for me, will you?"

Michael watched as the woman turned and looked straight at them through the display, as if she could see them. "Lucifer." She said.

The demon stopped when he heard his name, interest sparked.

"I will stop you. No matter the cost." She continued. "I will end this madness, even if it kills me."

Michael could hear the smile appear behind the bone mask that his enemy wore. "That's the plan." He said. Then he was gone.

* * *

Ruby continued to look at the clouds, the feeling of being watched having passed. She could still feel the chill that had crawled down her spine earlier, alerting her to her observers. Both a dark and a light presence had weighed upon her. _What was that? _She felt that Lucifer must have found a way to spy on them. She'd guessed that the best way to find out would be to send a message across. _And, hurray for me, it worked! Now I know that a harbinger of destruction watches me sleep._

Luckily for her, she had been alone on her cot when it happened, so nobody thought that she was crazy. Well, crazier than she already was, that is. She knew that she wasn't the same woman she had been when she left for The Academy, and she sure she wasn't the little innocent girl she was when she first arrived at Beacon. So much had happened since then, enough to cause a few of her friends to worry over her.

Jaune was one of them. He walked up to her every day, asking how she was, doing her favors, and constantly checking on her. Ruby wasn't entirely sure of his motives. She liked to think that he was simply concerned about her; after all, she hadn't been her perky, optimistic self since they'd gotten stuck in the cliffs a few weeks ago. But she knew good and well that it could be his way of showing that he liked her.

The aspiring Huntress gave a resigned sigh. Spotting a daisy nearby, she plucked it up and gave it a thoughtful look-over. The slender stalk slowly changed from a pale color to a deep green. At the point where the stalk ended and the flower began, the petals were a light greenish color. As Ruby looked farther out, the delicate leaves quickly turned to a brilliant white. The center of the flower was a vibrant yellow, reminding her of her sister's hair.

"Little flower, why do we destroy you to play our games of love?" She knew she wouldn't receive any response. Gently putting one of her small fingers against the smooth petal, she slowly drew her arm back and felt the soft texture. When she reached its tapering point, she brought up her thumb, preparing to pull. "Sorry, flower." The petal stretched and grew, as if it didn't want to go. Ruby knew the feeling. It wasn't able to keep its hold for long, as the quiet _snap _of it breaking reached Ruby's ears.

_He loves me..._

She reached for another, again watching as she ripped apart the beautiful flower.

_He loves me not..._

Another snap.

_He loves me..._

She couldn't help but feel some remorse for the little plant.

_He loves me not..._

But the girl felt as if she couldn't stop herself.

_He loves me..._

She couldn't decide for herself what she thought of Jaune...

_He loves me not..._

...so she would let luck decide.

_He loves me..._

Only a few petals left, now.

_He loves me not..._

She reached for another as she felt a hand gently touch her shoulder.

_He loves me..._

She ignored the intruder, she was so absorbed in her game.

_He loves me not..._

Just as she was about to pick another leaf a gloved hand grabbed hers. She whipped around, ready to smack whoever it was who interrupted her.

She found herself face-to-face with Jaune. Their noses were barely an inch apart. Ruby felt something like electricity flow through her, exciting the air between the two leaders. Her heartbeat began to quicken.

"Ruby."

"Jaune."

He put the hand that had been on her shoulder behind her. She felt his fingers slip into her short hair, holding up her head. She looked into his eyes, finding herself drawn towards them. _So much emotion, and all hidden just under the surface. How can he even hold himself together?_

"I..." She tried. Jaune put his finger against her mouth, quieting the redhead.

"I've decided." He told her.

Confusion flooded her, but along with it came a feeling of hope. For what, Ruby didn't know. "On what?" Her voice was weak, shaking.

"On us." He looked at her, _into_ her. She felt his gaze penetrate her, searching her for something. "Ruby Rose, I…"

Her heart skipped a beat. Time seemed to come to a standstill, everything around her froze where it was. The sound of the world faded, eventually becoming nothing. Even the colors of her surroundings dulled, but the man before her grew vibrant. Now, it was only her and him, the Flower and the Knight, Ruby and Jaune. She anxiously awaited his next words, knowing full well that they would either shatter her already cracked heart or make it whole.

When he finally spoke, it was soft, like a whisper. "…I think I'm in love."

Ruby felt like her heart was going to explode. In an instant, all the doubt and worry she had was gone, replaced with blissful relief and immense hope. She felt passion spark and ignite insider her, burning almost faster than she could control it. _So this is what it feels like to be Yang. _She thought.

The young leader turned her body to face him, still holding his hand. She could feel his breath against her skin, and the buzz of the excitement in the air. "So do I." her voice was still shaky.

"I…" Jane began to reply.

Ruby leaned forward and kissed him. Jaune was shocked at first, but almost immediately forgot it all and fell in. She took her free hand and put it around his back, pulling them closer to each other. She could feel his heart beat with hers, and energy and excitement filled her.

The moment felt like it would last forever, and for Ruby, it did. She poured all of her emotions, feelings, and worries into it, permanently burning it into her memory. She didn't want to let go. No, she _couldn't_ let go. She felt if she did then it would all disappear, that it would fade away like a dream. _But if I think about it, I don't care anymore. Not about Yang, or my team, or the group, or even this quest. All I care about – right now, in this moment – is Jaune._

She felt his lips slowly leave hers, and she followed the movement, if only momentarily. It left a lingering feeling when they finally separated. They looked into each other's eyes, finding surety in each other. Then, Jaune began to laugh.

Ruby couldn't help herself as the bubbly feeling rose into her throat. When she thought back on it later, she would describe it as the laugh of an insane person, one who'd just found proof that all of their crazy, impossible ideas were true. It was the laugh of someone in love.

It seemed to have drawn the attention of those around them, but Ruby didn't care what they thought anymore. She felt her stomach hurting, and curled up, still unable to restrain her joy. Jaune was just as bad as her, if not worse. He was beating his cot like a madman, eyes shut and head back. And as the two continued laughing, some of the camp did too. The happiness, the merriment, the joy, it was all so unfamiliar. But when they saw their leaders somehow finding a reason to laugh when they were all going through hell, they couldn't help but join in.

Ruby stopped laughing, but couldn't get rid of the massive smile scrawled across her face. Pyrrha was laughing along, Nora was giggling like a lunatic, Blake could barely keep herself standing, and even Weiss had a smile across her face. In the distance, she saw Natal wearing a huge grin. Next to him was her sister, Yang.

Ruby's smile lessened as the golden-haired girl turned and walked away, neither a smile nor a frown on her face. _I solve one problem, only to face another. I guess I really did choose Jaune over Yang. Gah, why is life so difficult?_

Ruby looked down to see that, through all their little laughing fits and everything, Jaune's hand was still on hers. She pushed her fingers between his, and he opened his up to let them through. Their hands were laced together, and Ruby felt the blood rush to her cheeks. _Even so, it was worth it._

She noticed the forgotten daisy lying in the grass next to her. Picking it up, she felt her chest grow warm.

One petal left.

_He loves me._

* * *

Roman lit his cigar and let out a puff of smoke. "Listen here, friend. I don't care how intimidating you are, or what you'll do to me, or any of that kind of thing. We had a deal, and you broke it. Plain and simple. You're either going to apologize, or you're going to make up. And since I know how much you hate us humans, I think you'll take the latter."

Before him was a black figure. He wore a night-black cloak and, from what Torchwick could tell, black fur wherever his skin poked out. Covering his face was a very Grimm-esque mask, complete with glowing red tribal markings. Silver disks shone through the eye-holes. "I believe that we agreed on you getting to watch your enemies burn to the ground while I got the allegiance of you and your men. So far, my troops have done all of the work."

Roman took the cigar from his mouth and tapped his cane on the ground. "I can't send my men in to help you when I have no idea that they are needed. Whatever communication you're using to send me _my_ information, it isn't working. You got a job for us? Give it now, so I can be sure I get the message."

The cloaked figure eyed him for a second. _Most likely assessing me. How typical. Doesn't he know that he has the upper hand here? Why go through with such unnecessary measures, to assure himself?_

"In fact, I do have an assignment for you. Consider it you're recompense." The figure held out a folder.

The crime-lord grabbed it from his client and flipped through it. A smile creeped across his face as he noted the faces of his targets. He slapped the folder shut and put it under his arm. "Black, I believe that this may be more than enough in terms of repayment. I shall begin immediately." He turned to walk away.

"Wait." Said Black. Roman stopped. "There are only two ways that you'll catch your prey." He warned him.

"And that would be how, exactly?"

"Take this." He held out a small, folded yellow parchment. Torchwick took it. Opening it up, it contained a map of Vytal, with what looked like a path going from Vale to some point in the Western Mountains. "This is the path they have taken. You may choose to follow them, and go along the path they have already blazed."

Roman nodded. "And the other way?"

Black pointed at one of the many glyphs on the map. It was on the far side of the Bay, meaning it was over one hundred miles away from Vale. "They will need to pass through here for supplies. Cut them off here." When the figure removed his finger, the gang-boss could see a symbol of a castle and the word "Arcenus."

Roman rolled up the paper and stuffed it inside his coat pocket. "Well, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some new business to attend to." He turned and walked out of the dark room.

Roman called up one of the guards he had posted outside his meeting. "Get me a ride." The man nodded and pulled out his scroll to make the call. _Look at my men, immediate and willing to help. They have proven far more efficient than any of those White Fang soldiers. Why does Cinder insist we still work with them? The world is coming to an end, yet we waste time building this 'relationship' with our allies. Why not simply join the winning side? Why play this game of politics?_

His ride had come. He stepped into the white car, and nodded to the driver. The henchman knew where to go. As the ruined city of Vale passed by, Roman felt a tad of regret. _If only I had been here to see it. It must have been quite the spectacle. _He thought to himself.

After what seemed like forever, they finally reached their destination. It was a lone warehouse, nearly a mile out from the rest of the city. It was one of the few buildings left standing after Lucifer's onslaught. Whether this was intentional or simply he thought it was unnecessary, Roman would never know.

The bowler-hatted man strolled from the car into the building, where he was greeted with a familiar sight. On the ground level, he saw two people, a man and a woman, backs turned to him. Above them on the balcony, however, was a woman in a red and gold dress, staring at the two below.

"Well, if it isn't my three favorite people in the world!" Roman swung his cane, emulating excitement, though in reality he felt just the opposite. _This is going to be interesting._

"Where have you been, Torchwick?" Cinder shouted at him, clearly unhappy. "You've missed some very important information in your absence, and it will not be repeated."

"Whatever it is you're doing, it's going to stop now." He pulled out the folder and threw it on a table in front of the two people below her. "We've got ourselves a little job to take care of."

Cinder's eyes widened and she ran out of sight. Roman took this time to turn to his partners. "Well, if you two want to be in it, I can have that arranged, as well." He gave a devilish grin to them.

They turned to look at him, both with annoyance written across their faces. _Gotcha, I win._ Mercury, the man on the left, was very… gray. His hair, his eyes, even his clothes, all gray. The only change was his skin tone, which was light and smooth. Emerald, on the other hand, was a woman with a bit more color. She had mint green hair, and dark skin. She wore a white and olive top with short white and brown pants. She had a few accessories – a ring, some armbands, and a belt – but was otherwise very conservatively dressed.

"We don't need your help." Mercury said calmly. He opened the folder and began looking through the pictures. "In fact, I believe you may need ours."

Cinder came forward, slapping her hand on the folder the gray man had opened. "In this case, I believe Torchwick is correct." She stared the man down until he conceded, letting go of the file. She turned it around so that she could see the pictures herself. "Where did you get these?" She asked Roman.

"Me? Oh, I got them from an associate. A rather dark looking fellow. Tall, imposing, draped in a cloak black as night. His voice was strange, like a chorus of people talking at once. We had a… disagreement over something he owed me, and I got this out of the deal." He leaned onto the table, getting right into her face. "Oh, and Lucifer gives his regards."

Cinder blinked a few times, seemingly in disbelief. But as quick as it came, it was replaced with the mask of dominance and disdain that she so often wore. _She never will show her true self to these people, will she? Must I be the only one to know who you really are?_

"I see my old friend is doing me another favor." She picked up one of the photos, looking at it intensely. "When do you think this was taken, Emerald?" She handed it to her dark-skinned companion.

After a moment of study. "Recently. Maybe within a week, two at most." She passed the photo to Mercury.

He nodded. "I agree. If he was able to get close enough to snap this, then I wonder why he doesn't kill them himself. He sure has the capability." He gave it back to Cinder. "Why are we involved?"

Roman answered. "Because I asked him for a job, and he gave me one. Honestly, Mercury, does everything have to be part of an agenda with you?"

"It hasn't hurt me so far."

Roman couldn't deny that. The cold, calculating mind of his accomplice had gotten them through many a tight spot. His constant suspicion also came in handy, especially when it turned out to be true.

Just as he was about to concede Cinder spoke up. "He's killing two birds with one stone." She looked at her team before her, her Aura coming off her in waves, quieting them all as they refocused their attention. "He removes a threat, and we have something to do." She straightened her body and handed the picture to Roman, finally allowing him to see it. "You're going to get us prepared, Torchwick. And you two, do as he says." She turned around, pausing for just a moment. "Don't screw this up, Roman." With that, she walked away and disappeared into the shadows.

Roman looked down at the picture and smiled. "Well, then. Time for a little payback, Red."

* * *

**So, that all happened. Now, I've got something important to say before I jump into story stuff, so bear with me.**

**Bad news for y'all: I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload the rest of this week. I'm moving, and it'll take a couple days before I'm finally situated at my new place. So, this story will be put on the shelf until I have the time to keep working on it. I'll upload if I finish anything, but the normal schedule will be put aside probably until later next week.**

**Back to the story stuff, we've _finally _gotten to the place that I had originally wanted to introduce in Ch. III, but I kinda got caught up in the whole Yang and Natal stuff. Plus, I found it a perfect point to introduce Ren's 'accident' and some other incidents mentioned in the sneak peek. Now we're nearing two sudden twists in the story now, so expect by Ch. VII or so for big changes to happen. (BTW some of you may hate me for them, but oh well. Call me sadistic. I'm not afraid to ruin some so-called 'important' elements of the story for the sake of suspense. MWAHAHAHAHA!)**

**Also, again, I'd love to hear from you guys about you're ideas on stuff to add to the story, so put your ideas down in the comments or send me a PM if you have a longer idea. I'll take anything, and I mean anything. Love them reviews 'n' stuffs.**

**And that's all till the next chapter. Adios, guys!**


	6. Comedy and Tragedy

_Life is full of both happy and sad moments, joyful and tragic, gleeful and somber. These moments, we have a label for them. They are the twin brothers, Comedy and Tragedy. Opposite, yet inseparable. Two sides, same coin._

The camp had been completely packed up. They had been very diligent in leaving no evidence of their presence behind, clearing the area of all their belongings and disassembling the fire pit. Everybody had a sack or pack containing their personal items, along with a bag full of supplies. Pyrrha and Weiss, though instead carried the still-unconscious Ren on a makeshift stretcher. The group left just as the sun was beginning to rise above the trees to the east.

While they had all enjoyed their time along the ocean-view cliffs, the group was eager to move on. They wanted to be done with this quest as soon as possible, and so that meant leaving behind their luxurious little resort. Pyrrha was just as determined to leave as the rest of them.

For her, this place had been a cause of both happiness and pain. She'd loved to look up from her work and watch the sun over the water in the distance. It'd given her hope that, even though so much of it had been destroyed, there was still beauty in the world. She'd also liked being able to watch her friends be normal teens again, something she felt had left her long ago. But at the same time, she remembered what happened to Ren, and it brought her grief and worry.

Even worse was the bittersweet memory of watching Ruby and Jaune as they had slowly fallen in love. She was happy for them both, to be sure, but she couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow as she watched her partner leave her for someone else. _I rescued him, I helped him, I trained him, I was with him every day, and still he never saw what I was doing. _She sighed to herself._ No, Pyrrha, don't let yourself go down that path. It isn't going to help anyone. _She shook her head and focused on what she was doing.

Apparently Blake and Ren had marked crucial points on the map before he'd gotten injured, showing the few stops that they actually _had_ to make on their journey to this Academy. One of them was a town about ten miles away called "Arcenus," a point where Hunters going to the Academy typically restocked their supplies. Their intentions were to stay at the town for a few days until Ren had fully recovered. By then they should have completely resupplied and would continue onto the next leg of their quest. Pyrrha just hoped that they could find a real doctor there who could help Pyrrha and Weiss improve their healing abilities.

Speaking of her fellow medic, she was ahead of Pyrrha, helping to maneuver the stretcher through the woods as they walked to the west. The young heiress had her emotions written across her face: worry, determination, exhaustion, and care. Pyrrha had a pretty good idea why, as well. She'd seen how the white-haired woman acted around the soft-spoken man they were carrying, there was no denying she had feelings for him.

"Weiss," Pyrrha asked, ducking to avoid a branch. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Weiss pushed stepped over a rather large root. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine."

She didn't believe it for a moment. "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Her voice sounding annoyed.

The Amazonian sighed. "Weiss…"

The younger girl conceded. "Alright, I'm worried."

Pyrrha nodded. "There sure is plenty of that going around."

"True." Weiss quieted.

"It's about Ren, isn't it?" She ventured. The heiress stayed silent. "Weiss, why do you hide it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's to keep what little dignity I have intact." She chuckled. "To think the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company would fall in love with a quiet man from who-knows-where. Not a very 'noble' of me, is it? Who came up with the stupid idea that nobility is defined by money?"

The Huntresses moved around an oak tree that had appeared in their path. "Well, how do you think nobility should be measured?"

Weiss shook her head. "Not by how much wealth you have. Some of the richest people I know have not the slightest idea of what it means to be 'noble.' They lie, cheat, and steal their way to fortune, then keep doing it over and over just so that they can have more. Yet people like Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and you, you are the ones that I'd call noble. You're strong, courageous, kind, humble, and selfless. That's true nobility. It's a measure of the heart." She turned her head to smile at Pyrrha. "I guess that's why you're on this quest. You're just like the heroes in the storybooks: brave, and noble hearted." She hung her head. "I'm just a self-centered, spoiled brat."

Pyrrha immediately began to see where this was going. "Weiss, stop it. You have just as much a reason to be here as the rest of us. You've gone through the same things we have, and are just as capable of dealing with them as we are. You're a huntress, a public figure, and for Pete's sake you're a Schnee! There hasn't been a single important piece of history that the Schnees haven't been involved in, and now you're on the most important journey in history, and you're going to say that you're not worthy of it?" She softened her voice. "It wouldn't be worth remembering without the noblest of that family here."

Weiss's looked up. Her voice was shaky. "What," _sniffle _"What do you mean?"

"It's just like you said. You've proven you're a strong woman just in the past month, let alone during our time at Beacon. You're definitely courageous, I mean who rides the back of a Nevermore, and more than once for that matter. And I've had three years to see your kindness and selflessness show itself. You are definitely worthy of this quest." She tilted her head to the side, smiling. "Your humility, however..."

The heiress rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." She used one hand to wipe away the tears in her eyes. "How about you?"

"What about me?"

"You know what I mean. It must be hard, seeing Jaune and Ruby."

The girl was perceptive. Pyrrha sighed and thought about it for a moment. "It's bittersweet, for sure. I'm happy for them, especially Jaune. Seeing him so excited and joyful, it makes me happy as well. But at the same time it's a little hurtful. Every day, for three years, I've trained with him. Every night, we were together, improving his skills and getting to know each other better. I did everything I could think of to get him to understand why I did it. It's just sad that he never did figure it out."

Weiss nodded. "I can understand how that'd be frustrating."

"Yet, it's comforting." Pyrrha continued. "Now, I no longer have to wonder if he likes me, or guess who he'll choose." She looked towards the front of the group, where Jaune and Ruby were leading them, hand-in-hand. "He loves Ruby. I'm his friend, and if that's the most we can be, then I'll take it."

The swordswoman shook her head. "How you can find a way to be happy that your loved one was taken from you, it boggles me."

Pyrrha smiled. "He hasn't been taken. He was never mine to keep."

Weiss opened her mouth to respond just as they heard something akin to moaning. Immediately they both stopped moving and listened for it again. There it was, a soft, quiet noise, emanating from none other than the man between them.

They quickly set the stretcher on the ground and leaned over him, trying to get him to wake up. Pyrrha, at Ren's feet, was shaking his legs while Weiss patted his cheeks. He shifted a little, as if he was also trying to escape his slumber.

"Come on, Ren, wake up already!" Weiss ordered.

Ren's eyes opened slightly for just a moment, locking onto Weiss. Even from this distance, Pyrrha could tell that he wasn't able to keep his focus on her for long. His mouth began moving, and the shield-maiden strained to hear. Weiss put her ear over his mouth as he repeated what he said.

After a moment's pause, she sat up. She stared off into space, jaw slightly ajar, arms limp at her sides. Ren's eyes closed, and his breathing became slow and peaceful. Pyrrha attempted to wake him again, but to no avail. Looking back up to Weiss, she noticed a tear crawling down her smooth, pale skin.

"Weiss, what's wrong? What did he say?" Pyrrha asked her.

The heiress refocused her vision on her friend. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She swallowed, then tried again. "Noble." She said, her voice broken. "He said, 'Noble.'"

* * *

Natal held the map in front of him, allowing Jaune and Ruby to see it clearly. "Looks like we've got just over two more hours till we arrive at the town, given our current pace."

Jaune looked ahead into the trees. "Well, that's two hours I can't wait to get over with."

Ruby nodded her head in agreement. "We need to get Ren to a doctor, ASAP. And the rest of us need a break from the life of a hermit."

Natal seemed ready to comment when all three heard Pyrrha shouting. They looked back to see their teammate far behind them, waving her arms, Ren's stretcher on the ground, and Weiss stock still. Jaune turned and ran to his friends, sprinting as fast as he could. _Oh, gosh what's going on? Are they alright?_ He stumbled over a root. _If Pyrrha's trying to get our attention, then it must be pretty bad._

As he arrived, he bent down onto his knees, sliding and coming to a stop right next to Pyrrha. "What's wrong? Is Ren okay? Did his wound open up? Did something happen?" He quickly put his hands by the quiet man's side. "Pyrrha!"

The Amazonian snapped from her stupor. "Aura, now!" she demanded.

Jaune placed his hands on Ren's chest and felt energy flow through him. He felt Ren's body warm and his heart beat quicken. He could feel the life returning to his friend, giving Jaune the satisfied feeling of a job well done.

Suddenly, Jaune was shoved back by a blast of Aura, and Ren bolted upright, gasping for air. Nora and Weiss were on him in seconds, the former holding his right shoulder, the latter grabbing his left arm. He quickly looked around, seeming lost.

"REN! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Nora jumped on her partner and squeezed him. It was obviously uncomfortable, as he grimaced at the gesture.

"Nora, get off him!" Jaune shoved the eccentric girl away. "He still isn't fully healed." She drooped her head and stayed silent.

By now everyone had gathered around him, and Ren looked up at them all, confused. "How are you feeling?" Weiss asked.

Ren turned his head to look at the white-haired girl, surprise on his face. "Strange." He told her. He looked down at his feet. "I feel… off."

Pyrrha shifted over opposite to Jaune, by Ren's side. "Ren, do you remember what happened to you?"

He nodded. "There was a Death Stalker. We fought it, and I remember being pinned down by it, just before it smashed its stinger on me." He rolled his head, popping joints in his neck. "I remember feeling the weight come off me moments later, and being dragged onto a cot. That's when I think I lost consciousness." He stopped talking, making eye contact with both Pyrrha and Weiss. "Then I felt something trying to wake me up, and I activated my Aura to help."

Jaune pointed to himself. "That'd be me. Sorry bud."

Pyrrha spoke again. "Ren, you got more than just smashed. Your arm was badly damaged, and it would have been irreparable if it weren't for Ruby, here."

The younger girl, who stood next to Pyrrha, shrugged. "It was nothing." She absently kicked at the ground.

"Irreparable?" Ren looked shocked. "Wait…" He lifted his right arm, and gasped. His sleeves went all the way up to his wrists, so at first glance it was difficult to tell the difference. But where a flesh and blood hand should have been there was a steel, mechanical one. The fingers were smooth and metallic, in the perfect shape of normal fingers, with breaks at the knuckles. The palm was also shaped as normal, but its surface reflected the broken sunlight.

Ren pulled back on his sleeve, studying the bionic appendage. The forearm was made of three separate pieces: a metallic curved plate on the outside, a black ribbed composite on the inside, and a steel band where the two met. The upper arm was similar, the same black-ring-silver look to it. When he finally reached his shoulder, he saw his muscles had grown around the prosthetic, prohibiting further study.

He put his sleeve back, moving his fingers in sequence, studying their fluidity. He turned to Ruby. "You built this?"

Jaune waved his hands. "I helped!" His enthusiasm died when he realized no one was paying him any attention.

"Jaune and I spent the whole night after the attack creating it." Ruby scratched the back of her head. "It was a bit of a rush, but we got it done."

Ren tried to stand, but couldn't. Weiss put her arm under his shoulder for support, and lifted him to his feet. He looked at Ruby, then at Jaune. "Thank you," was all he said.

Natal snapped his fingers, getting everybody's attention. "We're about ten miles away from our next stop, a medium sized village named Arcenus. If you can walk, Ren, then we could probably get there in the hour."

The injured man nodded. He turned to Weiss. "Mind if you carry me for a while?"

She blushed, before agreeing. They began to hobble away before Ren shouted out. "Nora!"

The ecstatic girl zipped over, again all over Ren, constantly chattering. _Some things even the apocalypse can't change. _Thought Jaune.

He got up from the ground, folded up the stretcher, and handed it to Pyrrha, who was still sitting. She turned to him, somewhat surprised. "Here you go." He said, smiling.

She took the folded cloth and stood, packing it into her bag. "Thanks." She replied flatly, unable to look in his eyes.

"Any time." Jaune walked away.

Ruby and Natal joined him, leading the group in the direction of the town. None of them said anything for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry." Natal told them.

Jaune looked at him. "For what?"

The coated man sighed. "For a lot of things. I'm sorry that Yang's been so hard on you two. I can understand how her actions have got to hurt you, Ruby, but try to understand that she doesn't hate you."

Jaune looked at her. While the apology had included himself, he felt that it was mostly aimed at Ruby. The young girl looked at the ground in front of her. "I know she doesn't hate me. She's my sister, for crying out loud, I don't think it's even possible for her to hate me. I just wonder if she can forgive me."

Natal rolled his shoulders. "I can't answer that one for you. You'd have to ask her yourself." He changed the subject. "I'm also sorry for you, Jaune. It seems that Pyrrha never got the closure she wanted until a few days ago, and it was quite sudden. I'm afraid for the backlash that'll bring you."

Jaune thought about that. The idea was not foreign to him. He'd known Pyrrha had liked him, for sure, but he'd never had the heart to tell her his reasons for not acknowledging it. Pyrrha was strong, brave, courageous, upright, and a plethora of other things that he was not. Sure, Jaune tried his hardest, and with Pyrrha's help had gotten better, but he always felt that if he were to fall in love with her, then he'd live his entire life in her shadow.

Yet, it was the same with Ruby. She was intelligent, quick, selfless, fearless, again, things he was not. But Ruby never seemed as… perfect, he guessed. Whereas Pyrrha never seemed to have problems, and was like a hero from a fairy tale, Ruby made mistakes, and was constantly asking for help. Sure, she got defensive when people tried to point them out without her permission, but otherwise she was always open to what other people had to say about her, good or bad. He could relate to Ruby, and he guessed that was what'd drawn him to her.

"I don't think it'll be anything I can't handle. Besides," he assured Natal "she's not the vengeance type. I think." That got a giggle out of Ruby.

"Speaking of my sister, where is she?" Asked the crimson-haired girl. "I haven't seen her since we packed up."

Natal shrugged. "Probably scouting the area ahead or something. She's Yang Xiao Long, who knows what she's up to?"

* * *

Yang sat alone in the center of a clearing, back facing the point she believed her friends would enter. She'd been here since the group first left camp nearly a quarter of an hour ago. She'd just wanted to get away from it all, and find herself some peace and quiet, if only for a few minutes. _Just some me time. That's all I need._

She looked around the clearing for the zillionth time, still in awe of it all. It was nothing more than just an open area of grass surrounded by trees, but Yang was certain that a whole Bullhead could fit in it, and still have room to spare. And there was a kind of simple appeal to it all: nothing fancy or exotic, just your everyday grass and everyday trees. It was a nice break from all the craziness and foreign feel of her life.

_It's so beautiful. I wish I could just stay here forever, always in this moment._

_You know you have memories, right._

_Yeah, but they're not as good as actually seeing this._

_You could take a picture._

_That'd ruin the moment._

_True._

Yang closed her eyes and again listened to the sounds of the forest. There wasn't all that much to hear - leaves rustling in the wind, grass blades swishing together, every so often a chirping bird - but that was what made it so enjoyable. She felt the soft earth against her legs and hands, the breeze against her skin. It was soothing.

A month ago, Yang could never have imagined herself enjoying something so simple. She had always tried to make things more exciting and chaotic, like trying to run along the trunks of the trees or punching down the flora to see how big an explosion she could make. Yet now, the last thing she wanted to disturb this quiet.

_So much is different from back then. I don't know which I'd rather have, the 'good old' past of school and boring drama, or the present insanity that I call my life._

_Are you seriously debating this?_

_Yes, I am. Wow, things are a _lot_ different than back then. Didn't you used to say 'we?'_

_Now that you mention it, I guess I did. Hmm, strange._

_Does this mean I'm getting bipolar or schizophrenic?_

_I think it's more like a split personality, like in DID or MDP. I mean, I'm definitely not just a overblown mood swing, and it's not like I'm some voice telling you to kill your friends or anything._

_Yeah, I actually think you're restraining me from it._

There was a silence for a moment.

_What do you think I am?_

The blonde thought it over for a moment before she came up with an answer that she could accept. _My conscience._

_You have one of those?_

_Or, at least my voice of reason._

_That's more likely._

_I'm beginning to think that my conscience has just gained sentience and now there's two souls in here. Like in Blake's book!_

_Congrats on the big words, Yang. Also on remembering something as little as the plot of a dusty old book._

_Shut up, you little…_

Yang heard the grass behind her rustle. She sighed to herself, knowing her time of peace was coming to an end. She continued to sit where she was until she felt the grass to her left bend and fold. She felt the fabric of a long coat brush against her leg, and she smiled.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be so happy to see me." A polite, charming voice told her. It was familiar, but completely unexpected. And unwanted.

Yang's eyes jolted open and she turned to see the dapper, well dressed Roman Torchwick seated next to her, his cane Melodic Cudgel across his lap, business end pointing at her. "And here I was thinking that my job was going to be much, much more difficult."

Yang jumped back and away from the ruthless criminal, who slowly got up with the help of his cane. "You!" she yelled.

Roman put a finger to his lips and made a _shhh_ sound. "We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would we?"

"And what would that be?" Yang asked, her voice laced with malice.

Roman motioned behind her with his cane. "See for yourself."

Yang turned around to see her friends running toward her, smiles on their faces. _He's going to fight them. All alone? Does he have a death wish, or something?_

That was when she noticed two figures in the trees above, one a dark-toned woman in a white outfit with green hair, the other a light-skinned man in a gray outfit with silver hair.

"STOP!" She yelled at her friends, realizing the danger they were in. But they kept coming, Ruby at the head. _Why didn't you stop, Ruby?_

The group sprinted into the clearing, all heading to Yang. "GO AWAY! GET OUT OF HERE!" she shouted. They ignored her. _IDIOTS! _As soon as the last one left the cover of the trees, the two figures dropped from their perches, blocking the exit.

Ruby stopped a few meters from her sister, noticing that she wasn't alone. "Yang…" she began, pointing at Torchwick. By now the rest of the group had arrived.

"Why, hello there, Red." Roman took off his hat and bowed. "Pleasure seeing you again."

"Yang, what's he doing here." Her voice sounded strained. And very, very angry.

Roman put his hand on the blonde's shoulder, from which she immediately reeled back. "We were just having a polite conversation on the surprise I brought to our reunion." He put up his hand, seemingly counting his fingers. "It's been three years, eleven months, and thirteen days since we first met, Red. I thought I'd celebrate the occasion." His sly smile disappeared. "Go."

The gray man slammed his feet on the ground, causing his boots to make a motion similar to Ember Celica reloading. He ran to one side of the group, where he dropped into a combat stance. The dark girl ran to the other side, unsheathing what looked to be dual pistols with blades attached to the barrels. She aimed them at the teens, a smile on her face.

The entire group, minus Yang, Ruby, Jaune, and Natal, was caught by complete surprised. Finding no way out, they turned to their only open escape: behind them. Just as their mad dash was about to begin, a woman in a scarlet dress laced with gold walked out of the woods, a fireball in her hand.

Roman continued his banter. "Red, you've made yourself quite scarce over the last month, and I just couldn't bear the thought of you leaving without saying goodbye." He put the back his hand up to his forehead.

"What do you want, Torchwick." She growled.

"What do I want? Oh, I want to watch as you are tossed and beaten by Ursas, clawed at by Beowolves, and stabbed with Nevermore feathers. I'd love to see the look on your face as all of your friend die before your eyes, and I'd _kill_ to slit that pretty little…" There was a loud _crack_, and the criminal looked at his chest. Over his heart, his normally spotlessly white coat had a whole in it. And it was oozing blood. "You little…" he cursed, before stumbling backwards and falling to the ground.

Yang turned to see what she could only describe as a miracle. Ren stood with an arm around Weiss, giving him support. His bionic arm was outstretched, holding a smoking StormFlower. "I always wanted to do that." He told the group.

From behind them they heard a slow, guttural laugh. Yang looked to the woman in red, but saw that she was only smiling, a knowing look on her face. _If it's not her, and not from the other two, then where is that noise coming from?_ She looked past the woman and into the trees.

The sound was coming from the forest. The shadows turned to a pitch-black color, making it impossible to see anything through them. The whole world seemed to darken as black storm clouds filled the sky, blocking the sun. The wind picked up, making the trees shake out of control, and tugging at Yang's hair as well. Lightning arced across the sky, revealing the silhouette of a tall, dark man in the woods.

"Hello, my dear Rose." Said the figure, emerging from the shade of the forest. "It's been a long time."

"Lucifer." Crescent Rose fully extended and slammed into the ground behind the hooded girl.

The Grimm was like nothing Yang had ever seen. It looked just like a man, but wore bone armor just like any other of the monsters. Black fur replaced skin, and its face was covered by a bone mask decorated with glowing red tribal patterns. Two holes had been cut out in the center, revealing silver eyes. _Just like Ruby's._

"You've been careless, letting yourself be found so easily, caught up to so quickly." He continued to walk towards her.

For a moment, Ruby seemed to grow taller. Her hood turned from its signature red color to a snow-white, and her black skirt and blouse turned to a deep crimson. Her face grew older, more mature. The only thing that was the same about her was her silver eyes, which gleaned with defiance.

"I was never running from anything, Fallen. Only towards something." The apparition replied.

Yang felt as if she recognized the figure from somewhere. She shook her head, trying to remember, but when she looked up the vision was gone. Ruby was back to her normal self. Lucifer arrived at the group, which parted before him, letting him pass on his way to their leader. "Towards your fate, delicate flower. You have run towards your fate, and now you will meet it." He stood before the young woman, looking down on her. "And you've lost the right to call me Fallen, Maiden."

Yang's eyes widened as the girl before her again shifted into the white spectral image. She recognized the figure, now! _Mom!_

"I did what I had to." the woman replied, glaring at him. "It was worth it."

Lucifer brought back his hand, claws extended. Giving out a loud roar, he slashed at the head of the ghost, forcing it to disappear. Ruby reappeared, and swung Crescent Rose at the demon's legs.

It was at this moment that all hell broke loose. The gray warrior swung a kick into the crowd, while the green-haired chick began firing her pistols. Yang jumped forward and swung at the gray man, making contact with his face before he got a chance to land a blow.

Turning to his new enemy, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Yang banged her fists together, fully extending Ember Celica before jumping at her enemy, priming to loose a shot into his face.

* * *

Ren was glad that he'd recovered his Aura quickly after waking from his coma, because when the white-clad woman began firing her pistols he needed it to protect him as he took a few blasts. He jumped from Weiss, rolling away as the girl put up a glyph to protect herself from stray fire. Ren lifted StormFlower and held down the triggers, sending dual streams of Aura-infused bullets at his assailant.

She jumped into the air to backflip over his fire, which barely missed her. When she landed, she sprinted towards him, moving into melee combat. Ren stood up, wincing slightly, and was about to join the dance when he heard gleeful screaming behind him, a pink blur rush past him, and an explosion in front of him. The woman was launched high into the air, where she twisted and fired down upon the trio.

Nora, Ren, and Weiss huddled together. The heiress summoned a glyph above them, protecting them from incoming shots. Nora had Magnhild in launcher form, and was firing tubes into the space above them, making their enemy's descent all the more difficult. Ren simply stood there, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

It came when the woman landed on Weiss's glyph, shattering through it. Nora swung her hammer at her, but she caught it between her blades. Weiss went in for a stab, but she moved out of the way, letting go of her clash with Magnhild. For a moment, she had her weapons pointed upwards, away from her body and her enemies. Her stance was unguarded, and she was completely open to a lower strike. Ren sprinted, slid down under the legs of the dark-skinned woman, and slashed the blades of his weapon across them as he passed, using all his Aura and willpower to break through her Aura's defenses.

She was forced to go down on her knees, legs bleeding profusely and now crippled from the wound's he had caused. She tried to stand again, but was only driven even lower onto her hands. She was unable to get up. When she looked toward the Hunters, Ren stood before her, looking down on her with StormFlower in his hands. Nora and Weiss stood on either side of him, weapons across their shoulders, watching to see how the scenario would turn out.

Ren put the barrel of his gun against her head, completely silent. The woman closed her eyes, seeming to accept her fate. She'd seen what the man had done to Roman, and expected similar treatment. Ren felt obliged to grant the notion. But the shot never came. Ren smashed his gun against the back of her head, knocking her unconscious.

"There's been enough bloodshed already." He explained looking up to see how the others were faring in their own fights.

Yang was by herself, dueling the silver-haired one. They seemed well matched, neither able to gain the other hand. When Yang would go in for a strike, her opponent would block, then counter. Yang would dodge the shot, and the process would repeat itself.

The black-haired, fire-wielding woman was facing Natal, Blake, and Pyrrha. Natal charged at her, sword back to cut across her. She dodged the slice, then kicked his arm, pushing the knight back. Pyrrha went in with Miló in sword form, holding up Akoúo̱ to protect her from any of the fiery shots that might come her way. She stabbed at her, barely missing her chest. The woman punched the Amazon's shield, summoning a burst of fire that knocked the arm back. She kicked upwards at Pyrrha's face, which she just barely dodged. She swung her javelin in a wide arc, but the sorceress ducked under it. Pyrrha stepped back as Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud, dual wielding the weapon. She used her Shadow Clones to unleash a barrage of strike on the woman, who did her best to dodge them. When Blake was finished with her attack, she'd left a few scrapes and bruises on the woman, but nothing more.

A loud roar captured everybody's attention as Lucifer smashed his fist into Ruby and Jaune, knocking them backwards into the area between all of the fighting. Jaune tried to get up, but collapsed. The battles stopped, as all eyes turned to watch the scene unfold before them.

Ruby stood up, shaking and badly beaten. Her grip on Crescent Rose had loosened, and she could barely raise the weapon to defend herself.

"Give up! Accept your fate, girl!" Lucifer commanded as he strode toward her.

"Never!" she gathered up the strength to slam her scythe into the ground in front of her, firing round after round at the Grimm.

He lifted his arm, and the bullets ricocheted away. "Are you willing to let your friends die so that you can live?" he slapped the weapon out of her hands. "Are you willing to kill your teammates for the sake of pride?" He punched her to the ground.

"No one… No one, is going to die." She looked into his eyes, defiance and stubbornness pouring from her. "Just you."

He kicked her side, sliding her a meter or so away. "Concede! Give up! Just die, and your friends will live!"

"NEVER!" She tried to stand, but stumbled. She was able to get onto her knees and watched the demon stride closer. "I won't give up! I'll never give up until you're gone!"

He kicked her again. "You're stubbornness will kill your friends! You will be the responsible for their deaths! You will be to blame for their suffering! It will all be YOUR FAULT!" He picked her up by her hood.

"LIAR!" She screamed, thrashing her body to escape Lucifer's grip. But it was no use. He threw her against a tree, which she slowly slid down, unable to rise.

"When you watch as your friends are slowly stripped of their lives, I want you to know that it was you who forced my hand." He began a slow, steady walk towards her. "When you've died, and you look down upon this world, I want you to know that you are the reason for all of their suffering." He bared his claws. "When I've killed you, I'm going to destroy everything you've ever held dear." He stood over her now, arm raised for a killing blow. "Goodbye, Ruby Rose. Tell the Commander I send my regards." He slashed downwards.

There was the sound of footsteps, and a shout, followed by a sickening crunch, the wet sound of meat tearing from bone, a thud, and a high, bloodcurdling scream.

* * *

**Finally got something written down! Yay for progress! So, now that you've seen the first major twist, I'd like to see what shocked you guys the most from this chapter. I know it felt a bit rushed, but that was on purpose, and there's a lot to take in. And I've added a few hints about next chapter as well, and if you've all been paying attention so far, then you probably have a good guess at what's coming. Although, next chapter has its own set of unexpected surprises waiting for you.**

**And again, I'm always open to criticism and comments, so put them below and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner. Any ideas or stuff, send those too. Also, I'm going to need a few OC's soon, so if you guys want to submit one, just PM me or put it down in the comments below!**

**And that's all, I guess. Hope you enjoyed the story, and Adios!**


	7. Arrival in Arcenus

**Be sure to check the A/N at the end of the chapter. Got some important stuff there for you guys. But until then, enjoy another chapter of **_**The Academy**_**!**

* * *

The knight sprinted through the woods, never once looking back. His eyes were focused ahead of him, straining to see through the trees. His heart was pounding, his mind racing. He stumbled on the uneven forest floor, but never once did he slow his stride. The only cohesive thought of his was, at its core, primal, purely instinctual. _Got to save her, got to save her._

In his arms was a woman, curled up against his chest. Her torso was completely covered in blood, turning her tan vest a reddish-brown and her normally brightly-colored undershirt was a brick-color. Her exposed midriff revealed a gaping hole in her stomach, revealing both muscle and bone beneath her torn flesh. Blood pooled in the wound, spilling onto her rescuer every so often. Streams of red ran down the pale skin of her face. Her normally golden hair was stained with streaks of crimson.

He kept running, searching for the light that would mean her salvation. Trees flew past, branches smacked into him, and the earth blurred as he frantically dashed through the woods. Finally, he saw a gleam in the distance, and he put a new burst of energy into his sprint. _I swore I'd save you, so God help me I will!_ He thought as he passed out of the dark and into the blinding sunlight.

* * *

Natal sat at the bar, absently swirling his beverage in its cup. It was a mix of natural herbs boiled in water that he'd learned to make as a boy. It was a suppressant, both on his physical pains and the emotional ones, making it one of the only "drugs" in the universe that actually cleared someone's mind. To his left was Blake, who'd gotten herself a strong tea. It had a potent earthy scent about it, and was half gone. To his right, Jaune and Ruby were talking, both sharing a bottle of apple cider. It was the closest thing to booze they'd ever get. Their young innocence brought a smile to his face.

A middle aged man with black, short-cut hair and a full beard was behind the counter washing glasses with a towel. He wore a white dress shirt with a black vest, and a red tie. "So, you guys have gone through a lot, haven't you?" He asked, genuine concern in his voice.

Natal nodded. "I'm not afraid about her, though. I know she'll pull through. I'm more afraid for her sister, two stools down." He pointed in the girl's general direction. "They had a pretty bad argument about a month ago, and it never got resolved. Ruby blames herself for what happened."

The bartender continued his cleaning. "Poor girl. That why she doesn't talk to her?"

Natal took a sip of his drink. "That'd be my guess." He turned his stool around and looked at the rest of the establishment. Directly across from the bar Nora, Ren, and Weiss were seated at a window table near the door. They chatted with each other, somber. Yet every once and a while one of them would smile, or would giggle, or sometimes all three of them would laugh softly. They seemed to be coping pretty well, considering all that'd happened. Pyrrha was sitting at a booth near the back of the room, facing the wall. Across from her was an older man in a tan coat. They spoke in hushed voices, whispering to each other. They both had a look of worry and distraught about them. Behind Pyrrha's seat was a large, open area the bartender called "the stage." In one corner of the space, a cot lay on the floor, containing a young, blonde woman with bandages wrapped around her waist.

Blake turned her seat around as well. "You wonder why they never just made up?" she asked.

Natal shrugged "Beats me. Yang always told me how much it hurt her to watch Ruby change right in front of her, and how much she wanted to talk to her about it, but it seemed that every attempt she made ended before it began with Ruby tuning her out and walking away. She was really distraught, but after I talked with her about it, it stopped bothering her as much."

Blake looked at the knight. "What'd you say? That it was just a phase, that she was just overreacting?"

"I told her that it was just about the right age for Ruby to turn from a girl to a woman."

For a moment, the girl had a very confused look on her face. Then the light bulb came on. "No way."

"I had a sister, once. It was about the same age for her as well. Both late bloomers. Same thing happened as well. I said one thing too carelessly, and she blew up in my face. Packed her bags, left home, and I didn't see her again for years."

"I never even thought… I always assumed that she'd already gone through all that."

"Obviously not."

"That explains a lot, though."

"Lucky for Jaune, too. If he just keeps being like he is – supportive, kind, understanding, and avoids pissing her off – then I have a feeling that this is only gonna cement their relationship." Natal swished his drink again. "Never assume too much about a person, Blake, especially a teenager. They always have something to hide." He took a sip. The girl nodded, and there was silence for a minute.

"How old are you?" Blake asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"I tell you, you answer a question for me, deal?" He said, unphased as he turned back to the counter.

She paused a moment, contemplating. "Well, what's the worst that could happen? Deal." Blake leaned an arm against the flat surface and looked at Natal.

"Twenty-one years of age, a young adult in most people's eyes. Yet I've seen so many things in my short life that I feel much older. I think I've aged over a decade in the last month and a half alone." He sighed. "Young body, old soul."

Blake faced the bar, looking as if she was thinking over what he'd just said. "I think we all feel the same, some more than others." She squeezed her cup, seeming to remember something unpleasant.

Natal had been granted a single question to ask, and guessing from Blake's reaction, her past would be a sore subject. He knew that the one thing he wanted to ask was probably way too personal, as she'd taken great lengths to hide it from those around her. But from what he'd seen of the woman, he guessed her team already knew about it. She was just keeping it from him and JNPR.

Finally, he stopped debating with himself and asked the question. "Why do you hide it?"

Blake stared straight ahead, eyes locked on her tea. "Hide what?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Every time you're annoyed, your bow twitches." Just as he expected, it flicked at the statement. "Where I'm from, we had a name for those kind of people. Half-lings, Mixed-breeds. Less than human, but more than animal. The godforsaken, undeserving, idiotic distant cousin of mankind, tolerated because they are part human, but hated because they are part monster. Unworthy of equality with man. A blight upon the earth."

As he finished, he felt the tip of Gambol Shroud rub against his throat, ceasing further comment. Blake's eyes were filled with cold, proud wrath. "You never, ever, talk about us that way. You people disgust me, with all your discrimination and superiority. You're no better than us, so unless you want to find yourself gutted like a fish, I suggest you just keep your mouth, you ignorant, heartless, bigoted, filthy little…" Natal pulled back the hair on the left side of his head, revealing his ears for the first time since he'd met the group.

In Blake's defense, she did take the surprise rather well. No gasps of surprise, no shouts of sudden realization. She just stood there, calmly. Okay, maybe more because she was so shocked that it had frozen her in place. She didn't lower her weapon, however, much to Natal's disappointment. She just sat there, arm extended, face locked in a face of confusion. It slowly melted into understanding, and she dropped her hold on the man.

She turned back to her drink, looking guilty. "I don't blame you." Natal told her. "It's exactly how I reacted when a group of men ambushed me, saying the exact same words." He rubbed his finger along his ear, feeling the scar tissue that formed its curve. "They knocked me down, beat me up, robbed me, and left me to die in a forest, all alone. When I woke up, they'd done this to me."

Her face began to soften, and she nodded to herself. "A lot of people are like that. Just because we're different, it classifies us as 'less-than.' We're discriminated, mocked, and beaten down. Someday, we won't be able to take it any longer, and there will be war." She frowned. "It's happened before, and it'll happen again. It's inevitable."

Natal shook his head. "War is never inevitable, nor the answer; it only succeeds in making things worse. What needs to happen is for people to lay aside their prejudice for a while, and just learn about each other. Spend time together, asking their opinions, trying to figure out who we are as people, and not simply shrug us off as beasts. Same time, we need to be open to looking at things from their point of view, and see why they fear us."

Blake didn't seem to understand. "But, why? After what they did to you, didn't you want to get payback? 'Eye for an eye', right? They hurt you, so if you hurt them back, you're even."

Natal again shook his head. "I don't want revenge on the people who harm me, ever. In fact, I think that later in the year I was the one who saved and helped them recover from a logging accident. I believe in the 'heap coals on their heads' philosophy. The greatest way to get back at your enemies is to do good to them, and to change them."

"So, you'd just forgive those people, forget it ever happened, and continue to live with them, right? You'd just bend under their rule and deal with their abuse?"

"No. I can forgive them, but I will never forget it. I help them to show that I, unlike them, do not discriminate between us. I can't really bring myself to hate them, I never could. I believe that you can never really hate your enemies until you first learn to love them. And when I did, I found that hating them would do nothing. Getting revenge would not make them stop, it'd only prove that I was just a monster."

Blake shook her head, a smile having crept onto her face. "How come you always have some wise and helpful saying up your sleeve, huh?"

"Young body, old soul." He replied. "But, back to my original question, why do you hide who you are? You're only proving everybody else right by trying to fit in, in a way you're saying that you're ashamed to be different."

She was silent for a moment, watching as the steam rolled off her tea. It was like this for a few moments, but Natal wouldn't give up, still expecting an answer. Finally, she lifted the cup, took a drink, and placed it back down. "I don't know." Lifting her hand to her head, she untied the bow, allowing it to fall from her scalp. The action revealed to violet cat ears, pointing up in what Natal guessed to be apprehension. _That is just freaking adorable. And, now that I think about it, quite fitting._

"I believe I forgot the answer to that question years ago." She told him.

Natal leaned back in his seat so that he interrupted the lovebirds behind him. "Ruby," he whispered. "What exactly would happen if I were to, oh maybe…" he scratched his neck, hoping the girl would catch on.

The redhead looked to whom the knight was sitting next to, and snickered. "She'll kill you." Then she winked, signaling she got the message. _Go ahead._ Her eyes said.

Jaune, seeing the feline figure as well, had dropped his jaw, completely bewildered. "Wait, Blake's a Faunus?" he whispered to his girlfriend. He was still trying to question Ruby about it after Natal left, but the younger Huntress shushed him and told him to watch.

The man sat up again, looking down at his drink, relaxing his body as much as possible. Blake, taking Natal's action and body language as an end to their conversation, turned to the bar. She let her guard down, and was completely unprepared for the surprise attack.

Natal's hand came out of nowhere, almost instantly reaching up to her head and scratching behind the girl's cat ears. She cringed at first, a look of surprise on her face. Her eyes scrunched up, her neck and back arched, and her arms and legs locked up. "I… hate… you…" was all she could say before she succumbed to the pleasure. Her face went slack, eyes now completely closed. She smiled as Natal continued to rub the spot directly behind her feline features. Her hands moved downwards and gripped the edge of the counter, keeping her from falling from her seat. Natal didn't think she could look more adorably catlike than she did right now.

Then, she purred.

* * *

After a few minutes of loud laughter, surprise from the members of team JNPR (except for Nora, who just giggled with glee and began commenting on how cute Blake looked without her bow), and an explanation from the Faunus, they had settled down at a set of tables near the stage. Jaune and Ruby sat at one table, Blake and Weiss at another, and Ren and Nora sat at the one closest to the stage. Natal sat alone at a third table, and Pyrrha had moved to care for Yang with the tan-coated man.

When the older man got up and walked out of the building, he waved goodbye to the group. They all returned the gesture, and turned back to their tables. Now, the two teams plus one were alone in the bar.

Ruby felt somewhat uncomfortable. No one was talking, not even Nora (but she was constantly glancing over at Blake, her signature impish smile across her lips). It left her alone with her thoughts, and those had begun to freak her out recently. She had thoughts of her sister, Lucifer, and Summer most often. Those would usually either depress, scare, or confuse her. Lucky enough, though, sometimes a thought of Jaune would absently flutter through her head, comforting her and perking her up a bit. But those thoughts weren't around as much as she wished they'd be.

She knew that she should go over and help Pyrrha heal her sister, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not that she didn't want to, but she felt that it was partially her fault that Yang had been hurt. She thought that whether her sister comforted or blamed her for it, either way would only make her feel more guilty to talk to her about it.

Yang had been awake for the past hour or so, sometimes lucid, other times not. But she had stayed mostly quiet, only speaking when she needed something or if Pyrrha asked her a question. She'd recovered surprisingly well from the wound so far, being able to stay conscious and ignore most of the pain. But the wound itself was still recent, and too much effort on Yang's end would only injure it further. So Ruby decided that her interactions with her sister should be kept to a minimum, at least until she healed.

_This isn't fair._

_Life isn't fair._

_Oh, it's you again._

_Don't sound so annoyed. I know you've missed me._

Yang's mouth began to move, causing Pyrrha to lean in, trying to hear what the girl was saying. After a second or two, the Amazon called Weiss over. The white-haired girl sat down next to Yang, and they began to talk for a moment. Tears were filling the heiress's eyes.

_No, I'm just so fizzled out. Like an old battery, I'm running out of juice. I can't keep up with all this happy-then-sad-then-good-then-bad chaos. It's just too hectic for me._

_Well, life's like that sometimes. It all rushes by so fast that we can't keep track of it. But then it'll unexpectedly go by so slow that it seems to crawl along, antagonizing you yet again. It'll randomly switch between the two, never giving you a moment's rest._

_If that's how life works, then life sucks. Why can't it be more like a machine: mechanical and with a process. It'd all be so much easier to understand. Life is hard for this long, then good for this long. No surprises, no twists, just everything going the way it's supposed to._

Weiss stood up, and walked over to Ren. For a moment, the two talked quietly in hushed whispers. Then, the young man got up from his seat and strode towards the counter, beginning a discussion with the bartender.

_If everything went the way it was supposed to, then there'd be no excitement, and you wouldn't be here, now would you?_

_Is that supposed to have a double meaning?_

_That's for you to find out on your own. But anyways, I'm not here to debate life's philosophies with you._

_Then why are you here?_

The two Hunters headed towards the stage, Ren stopping at his table to remove something from his bag. Weiss stood, front and center, while the Lotus removed a guitar, grabbed his chair, and sat behind and away from her. She cleared her throat, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"Yang has requested I sing her a song, if none of you mind." There was a chorus of heads shaking "no" and mumbling along similar lines. Weiss nodded, and motioned to the instrumentalist.

"I guess I finally get to try out my new toy." He commented. The corner of the girl's mouth raised. It was slight, but still enough that Ruby caught it. Ren placed his good hand on the neck, and his bionic one on the strings. For a moment, he hesitated, somewhat apprehensive. But he shook his head, and plucked the first few notes.

_Pluck, pluck, Pluck, pluck, Pluck, pluck, Pluck-a, pluck-a._

Not many recognized the song. They simply had blank looks on their faces, listening to the music as it played. Those who knew what song was being played, however, were holding back some tears. Especially Ruby. She already knew what tune was beginning to flow long before it was time for the heiress to sing, and she felt her eyes beginning to water.

_Ruby, I'm here because someone would like to talk to you. And since she can't get up to tell you herself, she's asked me for help._

_Who'd want to talk to me? And why couldn't she reach me? Unless…_

"_Hey, sis!"_

Weiss stood straight and took in a deep breath before letting the first note escape her lips.

"_**Red like roses fills my dreams…"**_

Ruby felt the tears beginning to form. She was telepathically talking to her sister - which for some reason didn't surprise her at all - and she had no idea what to say to her.

"…_**and brings me to the place you rest."**_

Her heart began to beat faster, emotions rising. _Why, Yang? Why did you have to save me?_

"_**White is cold and always yearning…"**_

She felt the hot trace of the first tear as it crawled down her pale face. _Why did you have to be the hero?_

"…_**burdened by a royal test."**_

She sobbed, attracting the attention of the man sitting next to her.

"_**Black the beast descends from shadow."**_

_Why didn't you stay with the group? You would be safe, and I would've gotten what I deserved!_

"_**Yellow beauty burns…"**_

Jaune put his arm around her shoulder. She leaned against him, putting her head against his shoulder guard. _Why did it have to be you?_

"…_**Gold."**_

Ren went into a solo. As his fingers began to move faster and faster, the music seemed to grow more and more intense, changing from its somber tune into one of grace and speed. After a minute or two, he simply stopped playing, and pushed something on the instrument, switching it into a piano. He transitioned to a much slower tune that reminded Ruby of sadness and longing. His fingers expertly glided over the keys, both his real and robotic one. Now, everybody knew what song they were playing. After all, its original artist was about to sing it. They all sat there, listening to the two protégés before them as they played their ballad to their friend. Tears began to streak across most of their faces, few able to keep themselves composed under both the tension of the day and the emotion of the music. Nora was already bawling her eyes out.

Ruby was about to telepathically have an emotional break down on her sister when Jaune leaned his head in and whispered to her. "You don't need to blame yourself."

She shook her head. "But I was stupid. I deserved it." Her voice began to break. "She should've just let me take the hit, instead of putting herself in the way." Her tears began to come in full force.

"She was only doing what she's supposed to." Jaune pulled her closer, trying to comfort her.

"And what would that be?" she asked.

Jaune leaned his head to the side, and for just a moment their heads touched. It was only a moment, but for Ruby it became another in which she wanted to lose herself. One she never wanted to leave. "'There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for another.'" He replied, bringing his head back. "She's protecting you, and trying to tell you that she still loves you, no matter what."

Weiss took another deep breath and began the next part of the song, this time in a higher, yet somehow sadder, tone.

"_**Mirror,"**_

Ruby thought about what her friend had just said. _Protect me? Love me?_

"_Uh-huh."_

"_**Tell me something,"**_

_But why? I thought I could never earn that from you again, not after Beacon._

"_**Tell me who's the loneliest of all?"**_

_You sacrificed yourself for me…_

"_Yes, Rubes, that's why we're having this whole talk here."_

"_**Fear of…"**_

…_does that mean…_

"…_**what's inside of me."**_

…_that after all this time, you finally…_

"_**Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?"**_

…_you forgive me?_

Ren again went into a solo, but this time he kept his instrument as a piano.

"_Oh, Rubes. Don't you know? I never blamed you in the first place. How could I?"_

Ruby realized that she'd never the thought of her sister _ever_ forgiving her cross her mind. Now, she couldn't believe she'd missed it. But the prospect didn't make her any happier. In fact, it only seemed to slide her deeper into depression. _You had to sacrifice yourself for me before I could even begin to realize you'd forgiven me. Why hadn't I seen it sooner?_

The song was drawing to a close, but Weiss made her last few lines count.

"_**Mirror, Mirror,"**_

_I'm so sorry Yang. _Ruby pulled herself closer to Jaune.

"_**Tell me something,"**_

"_I forgive you, Ruby." _The voice responded.

"_**Who's the loneliest of all?"**_

"Thanks, Jaune." Ruby whispered.

"_**I'm the loneliest of all."**_

"Anytime, Ruby." Was his reply. "Anytime."

Ruby closed her eyes, and put one hand behind Jaune, the other on his lap. _And anytime you need me as well, Jaune. _He put his hand in hers, and they laced their fingers together.

_Anytime._

* * *

_What am I doing! _Jaune shouted in his mind. On the outside, he would seem calm, relaxed, and supportive of his new girlfriend, who was currently clinging to him. But on the inside he was unraveling. Everything he'd just done with Ruby had been unplanned, purely instinctive. In essence, he had no idea what he was doing. He'd never been so close to a girl before, that is, without trying to punch him to the ground. He was never good with women, so he'd never been in a relationship before, making the whole idea of what romance is quite foreign to him. It wasn't entirely his fault, he was just... unnoticeable.

_How is it that when I try to be macho and cool, I'm invisible, but when I want to just be normal people begin to pay attention? It's not fair, and... _His brain shut down as Ruby snuggled closer into his arm, using his shoulder as a kind of pillow. She gave a sigh of comfort, obviously approving her new position.

_Okay, Jaune, just remember what Dad said. Confidence, good posture, smile. _He looked again at the redhead, who'd begun to fall asleep against him. Her eyelids were barely open, just allowing a tiny glimmer of her silver eyes to show. Her head was drooped against his chest, everyone in a while shooting up an inch, but only to slowly crawl lower than before. She had the smallest of smiles on her lips, looking content. _Freaking adorable… You know what? Screw what my parents said, their marriage was arranged, anyhow. Ruby likes me for me, not because I'm some lady killer. She likes Jaune Arc, the goofy, friendly leader of team JNPR, so that's who I'm gonna be. Me._

He calmed, having soothed his nerves of worry. He heard a soft snore, and Ruby giggled quietly. _Well, she's definitely asleep now. _He gently moved her body so that she was sleeping against the table, careful to keep her so that she didn't fall to the floor. After successfully getting her off of him, he got up and walked back to the bar.

"So, uh, where could I get room for the night?" He asked.

The older man looked him over, glanced at his unconscious girlfriend, then back to Jaune. "There's an inn next door. Tell 'em Hei sent you, otherwise you'll never get in."

The blonde nodded, and went back to Ruby. After gently picking her up, extremely careful not to wake her, he headed towards the exit. The group never noticed the two leave, as they were too busy still congratulating Weiss and Ren on their performance. Well, except Natal, who just gave a three-fingered wave at them as Jaune opened the door and walked outside.

He observed his surroundings for a moment, trying to get his beatings. He stood on a dirt road, wide enough for a pair of Ursai to walk down, side-by-side. The bar he'd just left was a wood, run-down brown building with a board that read "The Water Hole." Across the street were a collection of buildings varying in shape, size, and color, but consistent with the plain, wooden exterior style of the tavern. On his left, a gray stone house, a sign hanging out from above the door with the symbol of a sword on a shield. _An armory, I guess. _To his right, a dark-green cottage-style establishment stood.

He walked up to it, deducing it to be the aforementioned inn. As he opened the door, he was faced with an open common area, with a counter off to one side and a couch and fireplace opposite. The back wall had two hallways going off of it, most likely where the rooms were. He walked to the desk, and saw a bell. He was about to reach out to ring it when Ruby shifted, reminding him why he was here in the first place. For a moment, he panicked. _Oh, no. Where's the clerk? Do I have to ring that bell? I can't with Ruby here, so I'll have to set her down. But where? There's nowhere to put her!_

Any further anxiety was immediately cut when an elderly man emerged from a door behind the counter. His head was adorned with thinning white hair, and he wore a brown tunic. Below that, the counter obscured Jaune's view.

"How may I help you?" The man asked, his voice slightly cracked with age.

"I'd like to have a few rooms, if you don't mind." He shifted Ruby in his arms, getting a better grip on the girl. "Hei sent me."

The older man nodded, a smile growing. "Oh, did he now? Well, then, I have three rooms available down the hall, if you'll take 'em." He leaned in, putting a hand against his mouth. "But I warn you, the group across the hall is a bit, well, rambunctious." He nodded, approving the word. "Yeah, that's it. Rambunctious. Three people, two men and a woman. I swear there up to something every night, what with all the banging and thumping you hear through the door." The man shrugged, leaning back. "Oh, well. Hope you're a heavy sleeper."

Jaune gulped. He had a few guesses on what was going on behind the door, and none of them were pleasing to think about. "I do too."

"Oh, before I can give you the keys, I'll need a name." The man pulled out a notepad and pen, waiting on the blonde.

"Uh, how 'bout JNPR and RWBY." Jaune nodded to himself. "Yeah, that'll do. The rest of our group will be coming in soon, so they'll need a name they recognize."

The older gentleman nodded in agreement, handing him the keys, which Jaune awkwardly took. "Rooms 102, 104, and 106. Oh, and 103's the loud one."

Jaune thanked the clerk and turned towards the common area. On the back wall, a sign stated which direction the rooms were in. Jaune turned down one of the hallways, and walked until he reached room 104. "Here we are, Ruby." He pushed the door with his foot, finding it unlocked. "Home sweet home."

The room was nothing special. A table and some chairs in the corner, and two beds against the back wall. There was a bathroom to the side directly after the doorway, which Jaune noticed was quite small. That was it in the way of decor. It was nowhere near a five-star hotel. _But it's better than lying on a cot in the forest, wondering if a Grimm will come and eat you in your sleep._

Jaune set Ruby down on the first bed he came across, being very careful not to wake her. Once she was on the soft mattress, she immediately curled up into a ball. _She's eighteen now, yet at the same time she's still just a kid._ Jaune shook his head, a grin growing. He picked up a blanket that he found under the bed and gently laid it on the girl, who pulled it closer to herself. _Yeah, definitely still a kid._

He heard banging and loud voices coming from across the hall. Turning around, he realized that their room's door was still open. He quickly closed it, hoping to lessen the sound. It didn't do much. Bemoaning his poor luck at picking the room directly across from the noisemakers, he sat down, head against the door. _Why did it have to be me? Why did I choose this room? Why didn't I pay attention to the other room numbers?_ He face palmed. _I'm stupid to have let myself get caught in this room._

Then, he realized something. Something that he should have noticed earlier, something really, really important. _I'm alone. With Ruby. In a bedroom. At a hotel. Far from civilization._ Then, another thought dawned on him. _No one else knows we're here. _A dozen thoughts crossed through his mind, but only one stood out among all the others long enough to make an impact. _I've gotta get outta here before I'm caught!_

He jumped up, quickly but quietly opening and closing the door to let himself escape. Before forgetting, however, he tossed the room's keys inside, hoping Ruby would notice in the morning. He left the door unlocked, in case the rest of RWBY decided to drop by. Finally out of _that _situation, he sighed, leaning against the wall. _Yang's gonna kill me when she finds out..._

The banging sounds had turned into crashes, and the loud voices had devolved into a shouting match. And it was getting louder. The tired Hunter sighed, knowing that if he didn't do _something_ to quiet them down, he'd never be able to get any sleep, no matter which room he took.

He strode across the hall, took a deep breath in preparation for whatever he saw, and knocked on the door to room 103. "Hey, could you…" The door had opened slightly at his touch. _Unlocked. _The sounds from inside had quieted, and now he could just hear grunts.

"Hello?" he asked, pushing the door slightly. The grunts continued, and a gasp as well. "Um, I was just asking if you could…" He opened the door fully, and was cut short by the complete surprise before him.

Before him, on the floor, there were three people, two guys and one girl. The girl was lying on the ground, with one guy's head locked in a hold between her legs. The other man's head was currently being strangled by the woman's arms. The first guy was skinny and had a light green Mohawk on his head, and was desperately trying to get out of his current position. The second guy was wide-shouldered, buff, and had burnt-orange hair. He was currently trying to pull the girl's arm from his throat. The woman was small, short, and had brown hair. She was extremely concentrated in her chokeholds, to the point where she still hadn't noticed Jaune had entered the room.

"Uh…" The poor blonde said, extremely bewildered.

The girl looked up at him, and her eyes went wide with shock. She loosened her grip on the two men, who simultaneously gasped for air. Her body went slack, and she seemed unable to move. Then, it all tensed up at once, and she jumped onto her feet. The long, thin ears on the top of her head shot up, stiff and at attention. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. When she tried again, she had a bit more success.

Velvet Scarlatina put up her hands, waving them frantically in the air. "It's, uh… this… this isn't what it looks like!" She stammered, face flushed.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Well, then. Hope you all enjoyed **_**that**_** little tidbit there. So, now you have the two big twists in the plot: Roman Torchwick and Velvet Scarlatina. Not as exciting as, you know, someone dying or anything, but whatev's. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit, in the words of a friend-o-mine. But I _did _remove the original twist I had in this chapter, which was the one I said you guys might hate, and replaced it with Velvet. I'm saving that other one for later. *diabolical laughter***

**Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoyed the twist on the sneak peek from **_**Lucifer Rising: Prologue**_**. I wanted to change it up a bit, and I thought that some of the stuff needed a bit more explanation, such as the conversation between Yang and Ruby (Thank you, Summer, for volunteering to help there). Also, hoped you noticed the new characters in the cast. The list of survivors is growing by chapter, it seems. I'll have to change that. *evil snickers* But seriously, someone's going to have to stay dead, or I'm going to have the entire cast of the show still alive by the time our heroes reach the Mountains. (but really, is anyone surprised? it's the apocalypse, for Pete's sake, somebody's gotta die!)**

**Back to important stuff I needed to tell you. So, you guys have been very patient with me, and I'd like to thank you all for it. My moving has been a bit… hectic, but I'm somehow still finding the time to get some writing in. I'd also like to say that once I've finally finished with it all (the moving, that is), I'm going on a new schedule. No more daily updates, sorry folks. If I stayed at the three thousand words-per-chapter area, I could upload daily, but it'd be much harder for me to move the story the way I want it to. But if I stay in this five to six thousand word group, then I'll be happy with the chapter content, and upload every couple of days. So, thanks for understanding.**

**Another big thing: forgot to tell you that this is a multi-part series. I've divided this story into four "arcs," or parts, that I plan on writing. Not sure how long each arc is going to be, however. And, not including the Prologue, these four parts include the bulk of the **_**Lucifer Rising**_** series. So, in chronological order, here's the names of the five arcs I have so far.**

_**Lucifer Rising: Prologue (1 Arc, Historical Arc)**_

_**Lucifer Rising: The Academy (4 Arcs)**_

_**- The Journey Pt. I (Inspiration Arc)**_

_**- Arcenus (Recollection Arc)**_

_**- The Journey Pt. II (Vision Arc)**_

_**- Hunters of Remnant (Warrior Arc)**_

**I do have plans on what to do after the Warrior Arc, but nothing solid yet, so I won't share it until I've gotten a better idea. As you may have guessed, based on some of the things mentioned above, this chapter is the first of the Arcenus, or Recollection, Arc. If anyone can guess why there's a second name to all of these, then my hat goes off to you (Note to self: buy a hat). Yeah, I'll be checking the comments to see how that turns out.**

**Speaking of which, I just wanted to let you know that I do accept any and all feedback. Compliments, complaints, love, hate, ideas, suggestions, and even just plain comments, I take 'em all. So please, if you've got something to say, leave a comment. I'd sure appreciate it, and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner, as well.**

**And with that extremely long A/N, I'd like to say thanks for reading my story so far (how I ever got a single person to follow it is beyond me) and hope you all enjoyed it! Until next time, adieu! *three-fingered wave***


	8. A Proper Introduction

**Sup, guys! So, a lot has happened that prevented me from getting this story up on time, (stupid writer's block) but I finally did it! So, without further ado, let us delve into our tale!**

* * *

The man was running as hard as he could, stumbling through the trees. He was barely able to keep up with the rest of the pack, he was so exhausted. His unsteady legs and fogged mind made it all the more difficult to move with any speed. His lungs were on fire, his breath heavy, and his armored chest felt like it'd been kicked inwards. His blonde hair fell in his eyes, making his already blurred vision that much more difficult. He gasped for air, trying to keep himself up. _I have to keep going, I have to make it!_

Leaning on him, trying to keep up with his pace, was a younger woman. Her black skirt and blouse were frayed and worn, bloodstains dotted her outfit. Her blackish-red hair was disheveled, going every which-way. Her arm was around his neck, almost hanging off of him. In her other hand, a red-and-black rifle dangled from her fingers, about to fall from her grip. But, by some small miracle, it never left her grasp.

The man put an arm around her waist, helping support her as they moved. She looked up at his face, a grateful smile across hers. He let the corner of his mouth twist upwards before once again focusing ahead of himself. _Keep going, be strong. I have to make it, if only for her!_

He spotted a glimmer of light ahead of him. _There!_ He pushed forward, drawing upon his last reserves of strength. His companion joined him, helping to push them both forward as fast as they could. _I made it! I made it!_

_No…_ he looked to the woman beside him. _…we made it._

* * *

Velvet sat at one of the tables in the tavern, head cocked to one side. With her were Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush. They were two people of whom, before last month, she never would have even considered as teammates. They were bullies; mean, discriminatory, cruel jerks. During her entire first year, they had preyed on her, making fun of her Faunus heritage and smaller build.

_Things sure have changed._ She mused to herself. _Predator becomes prey, and now I'm the Alpha. It's a nice change of scenery._ She smiled at the thought.

"Velvet?" Asked a familiar voice. Pyrrha sat across from her, a concerned look on her face.

The Faunus shook her head, dispersing her thoughts. "Sorry, just, uh, remembering something."She looked around, bringing herself back to reality.

They had combined four of the tables together into one large square one. Each side held three people: Pyrrha, Blake, and Weiss on the one across from her; Jaune, Ruby, and a cloaked figure to her left; Ren and Nora to her right. Yang was lying down close by, but looked too injured to sit with them at the table proper. Velvet turned her attention back to the Amazonian.

"Good," continued the crimson-haired warrior. "Because we want to know how you got here."

"More specifically, who you arrived before us." Jaune spoke up. _Still trying to be a leader when your girlfriend does a better job._ The brunette's eyes darted between the two, a small smile growing.

"We spent the last month trying to make it here." The blonde continued. Whether he was unaware of her gesture or he simply didn't care, Velvet wasn't sure. "How did you get here before us?"

"Well," she began, somewhat hesitant."When Beacon was attacked, my team and I tried to escape through the Emerald Forest. But before we made it to the pads, these black shards came up out of nowhere, stabbing at us as we ran." She drooped her head, the weight of the memory returning. "Coco and Fox were caught in the chaos."

Everyone was silent, all grieving for their friends loss. They had all grown close to team CFVY during their second semester, and that friendship had continued thought their time at Beacon. Hearing that half of the team died in the initial attack left an emotional toll on them all. Just another reminder that the world was coming to an end.

"Yatsuhashi and I were able to make our way to Vale and hide at the docks for a week. Then the Grimm attacked." The memories began to resurface, flashes of gore blocked her vision. She was reliving the siege. "They destroyed everything. Every building lay in heaps, bodies scattered in the streets, nothing was left standing. Yatsu found a boat and we were about to leave when we saw CRDL running towards us, a horde of the monsters on their tail. I told Yatsu to hold them off while I helped them aboard."

A lone tear rolled down her cheek. "When I turned back after getting Cardin and Russel aboard, I watched as Yatsu's throat was ripped out by an Alpha Beowolf."

"Sky and Dove tried to recover his body." Cardin said, eyes closed and fists clenched. "They were mowed down by the demons." Hatred, pain, and sorrow all filled his voice. "Russel took the wheel and got us out of there before we ended up just like 'em."

"I just kept my foot down on the gas, heading west." The skinnier man said. "Eventually we hit land, and Velvet gathered as much Dust from the fuel supply as she could. We stripped the ship bare before heading out, hoping we'd hit something before we ran out of supplies."

Velvet once again took over the conversation. "After a few days in the wild, we stumbled upon this town. And we've been helping with what we can in exchange for shelter ever since."

Jaune nodded, along with a few others on the group. "Boat. That was smart, why didn't we think of that?"

Pyrrha shook her head, something like disappointment in her voice. "We _had_ an airship. _You _got rid of it."

"Now I remember. Something about facing challenges along the way, according to the letter." Jaune pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Yeah, a bunch of challenges we had to pass to get there, designed to test us, daunting and dangerous, avoiding them means forfeiting acceptance, yadda-yadda-yadda." He stuffed the parchment back into his pocket. "Just doing what had to be done."

_He's gotten a lot bolder than I remember. More confident in his skin. Something's changed him. _She looked over the Hunters before her. _Something's changed them all._

"So, what exactly were you doing last night?" the blonde asked, again breaking her train of thought.

Velvet's face immediately grew red with embarrassment. _Oh, shoot. _"Well, uh. You see, mm, we… we were, just…"

"She was beating the crap out of us again." Cardin answered for her, obvious embarrassment in his voice.

Jaune blinked, seemingly caught off guard by the statement. "You… what?"

"I have to say, I didn't expect to hear that from you, Cardin." Ren commented.

"Yeah, neither did I." the brown-haired kid thought aloud.

"…yeah, that." The Faunus picked up where her… _Friend? Teammate? Acquaintance? Acquaintance. _…acquaintance had left off.

Now Weiss spoke up, also apparently in disbelief. "Wait, _you_ beat up Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush, not only once, but multiple times?" The brunette nodded. The heiress blinked, then sat back down, face deadpan.

"Did you break his legs?" Nora jumped up and slammed her hands on the table, that unnerving smile plastered on her face. _That girl is WAY too excitable._

"Nora!" Ren pushed his friend back into her seat. The hammer-wielding psychopath pouted, her question going unanswered.

"Why, exactly, are you beating up these two?" Pyrrha asked, more curious than surprised.

Velvet took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "It never starts out that way, it just kinda happens." Seeing that everyone was still confused, she elaborated. "It usually starts with either of these two beginning to mope about all the things and people we've lost. I try to cheer them up, but they just ignore it. No matter what I do, they stay that way, so in the end I just do the one thing that gets their minds off of their bloody depression."

Pyrrha leaned in a little. "And that would be…?"

The rabbit Faunus was extremely apprehensive about telling her recently re-found friends what she did to the two, for multiple reasons. One, she didn't want to hurt the fragile friendship that their teams had made by warping their idea of her; and two, she really didn't want to embarrass Russel and Cardin more than she had to. They had become friends, to an extent, and although they had been horrible to her in the past, she wasn't the kind of person who wanted revenge.

So what she said next was done hesitantly. "Well, I hit them." Blank stares met that statement.

"She slaps one of us, snapping us out of it." Russel explained._ Thank you for the save, Russel._ "And since we have such short fuses, it turns into a full-blown fist fight. That she usually wins."

Jaune nodded, retaking the conversation. "Well, that answers that." He turned to the others. "Well, that's all I needed. Let's all help stock up on supplies so we can head out of here. I'm eager to get back on the road." He stretched his arms, obviously ready to get out of the tavern.

"And just where do you guys think you're going?" Cardin asked. There was definitely a hint of anger in his tone, possibly menace. But what from, Velvet couldn't determine. _Maybe remembering his teammates' deaths. Or being ignored. Or maybe being at Jaune's mercy again._

"Are you trying to say something?" the blonde questioned, voice on edge.

Everyone knew that after the incident in Forever Fall their first year, the two had become rivals of sorts. They respected each other, but were constantly getting into fights, mostly verbal. Although he had stopped bullying Jaune and his friends, Cardin kept up his abuse against other students, Velvet included. Jaune had stepped up against him in defense of the others on multiple occasions, actions that had earned him the title "Yellow Knight" from his peers. Most of the time Jaune only had to step in between the bully and his prey to end it, but sometimes fists or weapons got involved when Cardin was really pissed off. Of course, Cardin was always the one to draw first.

So when the two seemed to be at it again, the whole roomed tensed.

"I'm saying that there is nowhere to go, Jauney boy." Cardin answered, looking into the knight's eyes. "Don't you get it? It's all gone. If Beacon was gone like that," he snapped his fingers "then what's gonna stay standing when that Grimm horde reaches it? It was the strongest Academy in Vale, if not all of Remnant, and it was taken in an hour. And the city burned to the ground just as fast. So tell me, where do you think you can go that'll save you from that?"

It was a challenge, if Velvet ever heard one. "_There's no hope left, so what could you possibly be clinging to?" He's asking. He either believes what he says, or is looking for Jaune to give him a reason to keep going. This could be interesting._

But Jaune was not the one to answer the challenge. Instead the short, red headed girl next to him spoke. "The Academy." Ruby answered, her silver eyes filled with determination. "The birthplace of the Huntsman, supposedly the greatest training ground for them to date, and a safe haven what's coming." Ruby turned her head forward, looking towards a spot on the table.

That shut Cardin up immediately. _A haven from what's coming. Somewhere safe to run to when the world's going to hell._ "What, exactly, is coming?" Velvet wondered aloud.

"Literally Hell." Jaune explained. "This guy, Lucifer, has been on our tail since we left Beacon. He's like some kinda demon, with powers none of us have seen before. He controls the Grimm that destroyed Vale, and can make these spike-things shoot up out of the ground."

"He doesn't need weapons, either." Ruby joined in. "He's got club-like hands with claws as sharp as Crescent Rose. One blow was all it took to put Yang where she is."

Velvet looked towards the golden-haired girl on the floor. _One blow did _that_?_ _Her whole stomach's gone!_ If that was just from one hit, she didn't want to see how an actual fight would turn out.

"He's on a rampage." The redhead continued, staring off into the distance. "He wants nothing short of becoming a god over this world. He'll destroy any and everything that gets in his way. Men, cities, armies, he'll resort to any means necessary to achieve his goal." Her fists clenched up, like it was personally affecting her. _Who am I kidding, this personally affects us all! We've all lost someone through this, in some way._

Velvet thought over her teammates' deaths, watching as the vivid details of Coco and Fox's bodies being impaled replayed in her head, their faces stricken with horror and pain. She again saw the loss of her dear friend Yatsuhashi as his throat was torn out by the Grimm. He hadn't flinched, fear not once crossing his mind. His face had kept its resolve as he had used what was left of his ebbing strength to drive his sword into the monster's head. _Even in death the man tried to keep his damned honor. Just look where it got him._

"Is it really safe?" Russel asked, bringing the Faunus out of her reminiscence. "Is this Academy really going to protect us from that thing out there?"

There was silence for a moment. The green-haired kid looked to everyone around him. None were able to meet his eyes. Finally, his gaze rested upon Jaune, who attempted to return the look. He was about to open his mouth to speak.

"For now." Spoke a new voice. They all turned to the origin of the noise: the cloaked figure, who'd kept quiet until now. His face was hidden behind his collar, making it difficult for Velvet to identify him. _And difficult to trust him, as well. _"There are people there who will protect us from the Grimm. But they won't be able to hold them back forever. We are going there to become stronger, not to find a place to run and hide. I don't know about you three, but I think I speak for the rest of us when I say that we're not the kind who wait for the storm to pass." He turned to the three Hunters they'd just found, his brown eyes stopping at each one before moving back to Russel. "We're going to the Academy to stop Lucifer, and nothing's going to stop us."

Russel was shocked, to put it lightly. His jaw was almost on the floor, and he couldn't tear his gaze from the man who'd just addressed him. Velvet didn't blame him. Seeing an exact replica of Jaune was definitely an unexpected surprise. In fact, it was so surprising that her brain seemed to shut down for a moment. "Uh..."

The figure gave them a three fingered wave and a big grin. His almost instantaneous change of attitude snapped her back into reality. _This is just weird._

"Who the heck are you?" Cardin asked, holding his head.

"That's the big question, isn't it?" He replied, his smile fading behind a more serious mask. "The question I never got around to answering, thanks to Snow Angel."

Weiss's face hardened at the comment. She grumbled something about a bad taste in armor.

"Name's Natal Rickshay." The man continued, ignoring the Huntress. He scooted back his seat and put his crossed legs on the table, making himself quite comfortable. "Twenty-one years of age, drafted into the military at ten. Been working hard at fighting since then. Went up in the ranks, got to lead a big group of men. 'Bout a month ago I was getting back from finishing a mission when something... Strange happened." He scratched his chin. "Big flash of light, and a buzzing noise, then poof! I find myself in the courtyard of Beacon Academy, to be found by none other than our fearless leaders." He laughed, apparently thinking of something funny about the meeting. "And since then I've been with these guys here." He motioned to everyone at the table.

Returning to a somewhat normal seating position, he leaned against the table and looked at Cardin. "I hope that answered your question, Mr. Winchester."

"I'd advise ignoring his personality." Blake butted in, sounding quite bored. "It tends to change quite often." The rogue-like warrior sent a dirty state her way, which she countered.

_Something's going on between those two, _Velvet guessed.

A very wet-sounding cough from the floor interrupted the group. When the hacking continued, the entire table reacted, minus the three new faces. Ren and Nora scooted back, making room for Pyrrha and Weiss as they jumped from their seats to tend to the still-convulsing Yang, who was spurting blood from her mouth. Natal quickly appeared next to them, trying to wake up the girl. Jaune and Ruby began to push the tables away, clearing the area. Blake dashed out of the building, not saying a word.

"Jaune! Aura!" Pyrrha shouted.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ren grabbed Jaune before he could make his way over. "I'm supervising this one."

Jaune and Ren both sat down next to Yang, hands over her bandages. "It went perfectly fine with you." The blonde complained.

"You didn't have to regrow my organs." His teammate countered. "If you regrow the wrong part, and she'll be dead within a few minutes. This is just a precaution."

Pyrrha silenced the two. "Just do it!"

Both of the men shut up and began to glow a brilliant color, Ren a bright purple, and Jaune a stark white. Their faces were twisted in concentration, sweat beginning to form on their foreheads. Yang also began to glow a golden color, her hair shining the brightest.

_What the heck is going on!? _Velvet wondered, completely confused by everything happening. _Does everything have to be so sudden with these people?_

After a minute or so, the two stopped, both breathing heavily. Jaune fell sideways onto the floor, exhausted. Ren was shaking, unable to keep his balance. "Some… something's wrong." He gasped, a worried look on his face. "Her body… it's rejecting the regrowth." He sucked in a deep breath and tried to steady himself. "It's attacking the new muscle, worsening her condition." As if to emphasize the point, Yang hacked up a bloody hunk of... Something. _Is that muscle? Oh, god, I think I'm gonna be sick._

Pyrrha and Weiss turned to each other, unspoken words passing between them. They, too, had a concerned look on their faces. Turning back to their friend, the Amazonian asked, "Is there anything you can do?"

The man shook his head. "Her system's rejecting any outside Aura. At this point, we can't even stabilize her without causing more damage."

Natal cracked his knuckles and moved over towards Yang's head. "If that's the case, then let me try something." He put his hands on either side of the girl's face.

"Didn't you just hear Ren?" Weiss asked, her voice laced with annoyance. "An Aura transfer will kill her!"

"Who ever said anything about using Aura?" He asked. Suddenly his hands began to vibrate. They seemed to fade and blur, allowing the group to see through them to the floor below. Velvet's head began to spin. _Is nothing normal with these people?_

Natal took in a deep breath, then thrust his hands into her skull. The appendages passed right through her skin and into her head, stopping at his wrists. Yang stopped coughing, and her back arched upwards. Her normally lilac eyes were dominated by her pupil, wide with what Velvet likened to pain. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, and blood dribbled from her lips.

"What are you doing!" Shouted Ruby, who'd dashed over to Natal's side. She tried to rip his arm away, but her hand simply passed through it. She scrambled back, looking mortified."GAH!"

"Only a few more seconds." He grunted. "Almost there."

He pulled his hands out, and Yang dropped to the floor with a loud _thump._ Her eyes closed, and her jaw hung limply. Her skin had turned pale, though unlike on Weiss and Ruby, it looked scary on her. The blood on her lips had stopped flowing, but a single drop rolled down her cheek. She looked dead.

In Natal's hand there was a small black mass of tissue. It pulsed and throbbed, as if it were alive. He looked at it for a moment, before squeezing down on it, causing it to burst in a spray of black liquid. He tossed the carcass to the side. "That should do it." He tried to get up, but stumbled, only to be caught be a recently-arrived Blake.

The cat-Faunus looked up at him, deadpan. "Nice Semblance." Was all she said.

Ruby was on her feet in milliseconds. "You call that nice?" She pointed an accusing finger at her cloaked friend. "You could've hurt my sister! What were you thinking!?"

"Aren't you two in a feud or something?" Ruby gave him a dark stare. "Okay, too soon."

"Not the time, Natal." Blake growled. _Those two? Hmm, maybe, but the dynamic feels wrong._

Ren kneeled down beside Yang. "I can't believe it." He whispered, barely audible enough for Velvet to hear, but enough to get her attention. "He did it."

The brunette turned to him. "Did what?" She asked loudly, making Ren the center of the room's focus.

He slowly moved his hands along the girls length, about an inch from her skin. They glowed a bright magenta color. "He's healed her." He stated.

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked, head cocked to one side, thoroughly confused.

Ren laid his hands over Yang's stomach. "He's altered her Aura to be more receptive to outside influence. And since our Auras were still in her system, the energy was absorbed into her own, and she regrew all of her damaged parts immediately." He picked at one of the bandages until his finger could get under it. Then, he pulled it up, removing the cloth and revealing the wound to the room.

But Velvet, along with the rest of the room, was surprised to find smooth, pink-colored skin under the wrappings. There was no sign of the old wound: no cuts, bruises, scrapes. There wasn't even any scar tissue. It looked liked brand new skin.

"I'm going to go sit down, if you don't mind." Velvet pulled up a chair and plopped herself in the seat, trying to understand everything that she'd just seen. _Okay, first, Jaune stepped up to that leader role, then little Red Riding Hood shuts Cardin up, then this mystery-man introduces himself as Natal, Yang begins to literally hack up a lung, not even Ren can heal her, and then the cloak-guy sticks his hands in her head, yanks out some black squishy-thing, and she's healed. Yep, I'm going insane._

Ren turned to Natal. "How'd you do it?" He asked, completely bewildered.

Natal shrugged. "I guess it's like what Blake said. It's my Semblance."

"You guess?" Weiss skeptically raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. "Not the name I know it by, but essentially the same. It's what my teacher calls Matter Manipulation. He told me that it has a total of five stages of development before it's mastered. I spent most of my time in the military passing those stages, until I'd mastered it all."

Weiss seemed interested. "What are the stages?" She pressed.

"The first is density. I can control how compact my atomic structure is so that I'm either impenetrable or things just pass through me. Second is translocation. If I focus enough, I can quickly move my atoms just about anywhere I want. But I have to be careful, because I can end up partially in a wall or floor if I don't give myself enough breathing space."

"That's how you saved Yang!" Ruby exclaimed. "At the Bay, when Yang jumped off, you teleported with her back to the top, right?"

He nodded. "Pretty close. Teleporting is instant, while my translocation can take a few milliseconds. But that brings me to stages three and four. The third is manipulation of objects in direct contact with me." He began to talk with his hands, acting as if he was holding something. "So I could change the density of anything I touch or I could translocate it along with me. Fourth stage is people. The body's structure is so complex that I have to be very, very precise when changing its density or translocating it, especially since I'm not as aware of any mistakes I've made with the other person." He stopped, looking lost in thought.

"And the last stage?" Weiss asked, obviously dying to learn more. _I never knew her to be so inquisitive. Why is nothing the way I remember it?_

Natal shook his nostalgia away. "It's a highly complex, difficult, and extremely dangerous technique called Mental Manipulation. It's what I just did to Yang." He pointed to her head. "The human brain stores memories, functions, muscle patterns, and a bunch of other things it needs in electrical impulses throughout its structure. In the final stage, I can manipulate the pathways and direction of those impulses. I can also copy any information stored there and use it myself. Basically, the brain becomes a book that I can read and rewrite."

Pyrrha took a step back from the man. "Does that mean that you can change someone's personality? Erase memories?"

He nodded. Everyone took a step back from him, a kind of fear floating through the air. The implications dawned on Velvet. If he didn't like something about someone, he could just change it. He could, as he said, rewrite their personality to something that suited him better. He could steal their skills, delete their memories, and change the kind of person they were, and they'd never even know. He could destroy someone's life by removing everything about them from their memories and planting his own within. It gave him immense power of those around him.

"Is that what you used to make us come here?" the Amazonian was fuming, rage laced every word she spoke. "Is that how you got us to follow you so willingly?"

"What?" Natal looked confused. "How could you…"

"Is that how you got me to trust you?" Blake asked, removing herself from Natal. He stumbled onto the floor, still not fully recovered. "Believe that you had gone through the same things I had, you gave me those feelings?"

"Blake, I thought that you'd be sensible." He turned to them all. "Why would I do that to any of you?"

"To get us to believe you." Weiss countered. "You immediately took charge, and we all fell in step behind you, besides all of the things that were obvious warnings you couldn't be trusted."

"You did just appear out of nowhere." Ruby commented.

Jaune crossed his arms. "You looked just like me for the longest time."

"You have skills that don't match up with your story." Ren added.

"You claimed to live a life that all of us here know isn't possible." Blake exclaimed. "You said you knew my pain, but the story you gave us all goes against that. There isn't a single military organization on Remnant that takes children and trains them for war at such a young age. Not even the White Fang would do that!"

Natal's face looked surprised. "But why would I hurt any of you? What have I done to make you think that?"

"Did you do that to make Yang love you?" Ruby questioned, eyes wide with hurt. Velvet looked between the cloaked figure and the golden-haired girl next to him. _Those two? I did not see that one coming._

Natal's gaze locked with the redhead's, face full of confusion. "Love me?" His eyes widened, realizing what the younger girl was saying. He turned to the blonde. "Oh, my god…"

"I knew you were trouble the moment I laid my eyes on you!" Weiss drew Myrtenaster, the blade beginning to glow a bright white.

"Why would I hurt you like that? Why would I do that to any of you?" Natal asked again, more forcefully this time.

"How do we not know that you're in league with Lucifer?" Pyrrha questioned, drawing Miló.

Natal turned to look past them all. "Nora." He said.

She was the only one who hadn't spoken yet. She simply sat in her chair, head cocked to the side, listening intently to the entire conversation, looking as if she were deep in thought. "Why?" She asked.

Natal's face dropped, his hope gone. "But…"

"Why would he hurt us?" She asked again, now drawing everyone's attention.

"Because he's working for Lucifer!" shouted Weiss.

Nora shook her head. "He already said it. He's gotta touch you like he did with Yang to change you. Like this!" She jumped onto Weiss, her hands on her face, making strange noises with her mouth.

"Nora!" Ren pulled the eccentric girl off of his friend. The heiress pouted and dusted herself off, still managing to look prim and proper while doing it.

"You're all just jumping to conclusions." Nora stated, literally bouncing on her heels. "If Natal really was working for Lucifer, then why is he working so hard to help us?" She stopped her energetic movement and walked up to Natal, her hand held out to him. "And I'm sure he'd never be able to do something like that to anyone, right?"

Natal stared at the hand, looking as if he was about to grab it. Then he put up his hand and pushed hers away. Unable to meet her gaze, he looked towards the floor. Nora was shocked, and was unable to move.

The man got up from the floor and slowly started towards the door. Everyone was silent as he strode by them. The room was dead silent other than the sound of his footsteps. Once he was about halfway between the group and the door, he stopped.

"Nora, I wish I could say that I couldn't, that I never would be able to bring myself to do it, that I have never, and never will, forcefully change someone. But the fact is that I already have." He looked over his shoulder at the mass of surprised Hunters, all of them rooted where they stood. "And now she's dead, and I have no one to blame for that but myself. To make it easier on you all, let me leave you a bit of advice about me. Everyone that I've ever helped or cared about has died in a brutal, horrible way. And I've been forced to watch as they did so. When I found myself at Beacon, I had hoped that that was going to change. But it seems that I will never escape my past." He strode to the door, putting his hand on the handle. He looked at the hardware, hesitant to turn it.

"If you want to be mad at me, go ahead. If you want to get rid of me, go ahead. I won't blame you. I probably deserve it. I've just run from it for so long that I thought that I'd escaped it."

He waited for a moment, awaiting some blow or accusing statement from the others. Instead, however, the air around him seemed to waver. He looked up, confused. The shimmering air focused itself in front of him, slowly materializing into the figure of a woman. After a moment, it solidified, revealing an unexpected but familiar figure before him.

Natal stumbled back, "What? Wait, how did you…?"

Yang leaned back against the door, blocking his exit. "You know, you should have cleaned up after you left my head, because I think you left some of your luggage behind." She gave him a devilish smile.

Velvet's head was spinning. "Can't anyone of you just be normal?" She shouted, before the toll of the day and lack of oxygen from her outburst cut her vision to black and she fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

**Yeah, so sorry about this chapter taking so long, guys. I had writer's block last week, and finally I had this rush of ideas come in for this chapter. I ended up sticking to the one I wanted the most, which is the "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!" idea I've had for the longest time. I didn't really enjoy writing this chapter all that much, because writer's block makes writing not so fun, but I'm sure glad I did it. Next chapter won't be so long in the making, though. I hope.**

**And an update, I'm again changing the schedule. I'm making it more definite, now. Expect new stuff from me on Thursday's. So you can now enjoy canon-RWBY along with Risingverse-RWBY! (Yes, that's what I'm calling my AU, so until I get a better idea it's sticking.) Also, if you check out my profile you can see a few other reasons why I'm coming up with this schedule: alternate ideas. I have so many ideas on what to do **_**other than Lucifer**__**Rising**_** that it's getting in the way of this story. Also, the first chapter of **_**Project: Team SABL **_**will be out by Sunday, and it's planned to be a one-shot. If you like it, then I'll continue the series. Otherwise, it'll probably just stay as a one-shot.**

**Well, thanks for reading! Before you go, remember to put whatcha think down in the comments, and I'll see ya next time!**


	9. Issues of the Heart

**FLUFF! or filler or whatever you want to call it.**

**Now back to our story**

The world swam as he groggily tried to wake himself up. All around him, screams and shouts dimly sounded, but he paid them no mind. He realized that he was lying on his back, splayed out. His body felt sluggish and weak as he tried to find a place to put his hands for support. The moment he moved his weight to rise, however, a sharp pain shot through his chest, forcing him back to the ground. He looked down to see a red patch on his otherwise spotlessly white jacket. _That'll be difficult_ _to wash out. _He thought to himself.

Suddenly, the sound of engines whirring and dozens of feet running caught his attention. He turned his head to the side to see a drop ship in the vicinity. Many monochromatic soldiers jumped off, weapons aimed around them. He saw a silver and green-haired couple board the ship, looking injured.

He reached a hand towards them, trying to reach the familiar faces. _Please, don't leave me. _The soldiers boarded the bullhead until there was no one left besides him. The engines powered up, and he felt that his worst nightmares had been realized. _I could do so much more, just please, don't leave me!_ Despair began to creep into his mind as he attempted to crawl his way towards the aircraft.

Suddenly, a pair of dark glass high-heels blocked his view. Too weak to look up, he simply stared at the pair of footwear before him. _Who wears glass slippers? _He wondered. Immediately, the answer came to him, bringing with it a little bit of nervous laughter and a lot of fear. _That's right, she does._

* * *

Yang banged the back of her head against the wall, trying to find some way to escape the boredom of isolation. "Gah, why can't _something _just happen, already!" She banged her fist against the floor in frustration. Although the blow should have been enough to elicit at list a slight tingling feeling, the blonde felt nothing.

She was in an empty, plain white room, with no doors or windows. The walls were blank, void of color or decoration. Light permeated the room from all directions, making shadows non-existent. The sole occupant of the space sat against one of the walls, facing the center of the room. She looked somewhat normal, although most of the skin over her stomach was ripped out, revealing the organs and bones underneath. Nothing was damaged, however. After some poking of the area, Yang had realized that it was purely a cosmetic change.

"Ung, I'm so bored." She leaned her head back, staring at the bland-colored ceiling. "Just wake me up, already."

"You know that won't be happening for a while." Said a voice. The blonde focused on the center of the room to see a version of herself, dressed in her Beacon uniform. The Yang-copy gave her a warm smile. "Hello, Yang."

"Well, if it isn't my voice of reason." The original didn't feel too excited about having a discussion with herself. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" she said sarcastically.

"In all honesty, a few reasons." The imitation sat down beside her, looking at her. "You've gone into a coma and turned your mind into a visual representation, so I had to come eventually. You're so bored that your alternate personality – that's me, by the way – is getting sick of just hiding in the back of your head. Oh, and there's also the fact that you only call me by my title, and it's beginning to piss me off."

Yang shrugged. "Well, what else am I supposed to call you?"

"I think you could come up with something."

Yang thought for a moment. "Well, I could always call you Hyde."

"You mean the sociopathic alter-ego of Dr. Jekyll? That sounds more like you." The copy snickered.

The original grunted, trying to come up with a better name. "Okay, what about Athena?"

"Goddess of wisdom? Nah, too formal."

"Ugh, you're so picky." Yang racked her brain for a better name, but nothing came to her. She was about to give up when a single word popped into her head, suddenly calming her fraying nerves and settling her mind. "Arellia." She whispered.

The dapper version blinked her eyes. "A-Arellia?" she stuttered.

Yang nodded her head, looking forward. "An old queen over one of the northern countries of Remnant. Professor Oobleck once told us a legend about her. She was a wise and straightforward woman, who refused to play politics with the nobles of the other kingdoms, often causing tension between their lands. But everyone respected her, and when she finally died in a battle for her country she was grieved across Remnant as a great hero."

The doppelganger nodded in approval. "I like it. Arellia it is!" The newly named dissociative identity beamed at her template.

Yang rolled her eyes and continued to look forwards. "So, Arellia, what are we gonna do now?"

Arellia rested her chin on her hand, looking around the blank room. "We could always see what the outside world's doing." She suggested.

The first girl shook her head. "I'm not strong enough for that. The outside world's going to have to come to me if they want to talk to me."

"Why wait on them?" a third voice answered. Both Yang's turned to see a third version, though this one was a whole, younger-looking version. Her hair was on fire, and her lilac eyes looked like they were just about to turn into the fiery red color that signified the full use of her Semblance.

"Ah, Youth." Said Arellia. "So glad you could join us."

Yang turned to her conscience. "Wait, she already has a name?"

"Uh, duh, I have a name!" Youth retaliated. "And I didn't have to wait for anyone else to come up with one, either." She crossed her arms and shifted her weight.

The template leaned over to the clone next to her. "Was I really like that when I was younger?" she asked.

The voice of reason nodded. "Trust me, you're glad it's all fuzzy right now. If you could really remember how eccentric and defiant you were, you wouldn't recognize yourself."

"Hello, I'm right here, you know." Youth leaned over Arellia, giving her an annoyed glare. "Besides, it's not like the change is _that _drastic."

"No, there's quite the difference." The first copy told Yang.

The second huffed in annoyance. "Oh, what do you know?"

Yang just looked at the two, half amused. "Just pointing out that before you two showed up I was perfectly fine."

"No, you were whining about your boredom." Arellia corrected.

Youth swiveled her head to get a view of the room. "I can see why." She stated. "Shoot, your brain's empty. Not even your pretty boyfriend's here." She knocked on a wall, a hollow sound echoing throughout the room.

"Ever thought that I _wanted _it that way?" Yang retorted. "Although I find it difficult to get used to, sometimes I really think that some peace and quiet is just what I need to deal with everything."

Youth put a hand on her hips, giving her template a quizzical look. "And just what is it that you have to deal with?"

"Post-traumatic stress I acquired from my encounter with Lucifer, circulatory shock from the blow he gave me, heavy blood loss from the many wounds and span of time before they were bandaged, some organ failure, and most likely a case of dissociative identity disorder brought upon by stress, frustration, and a previously unstable mental condition." Yang listed the problems without batting an eye. Both of her copies stood in their own shocked states at the response.

"Well, that was sure comprehensive." Arellia stated.

Youth nodded. "And intelligent, too."

"Sheesh, I decided to pay attention in class last year, alright? It's nothing major." Yang rolled her eyes. "Now, could you please leave me alone with my thoughts and boredom while I wait for my friends to wake me up?"

Arellia nodded, standing up and walking over to Youth. The other version just looked at her fellow copy, nodding at each other. Yang closed her eyes and buried her head in her knees.

"We'll be here if you need us." Arellia told her.

"Yeah, yeah." Yang brushed off the comment. When she received no response she looked at the room to find that her copies had vanished without a trace. The blonde sighed, already beginning to miss the company. "If only they weren't so chatty, it might have actually been enjoyable."

She wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knee. She was beginning to feel lonely, bringing thoughts of her previous conversation up. _"Not even your pretty boyfriend's here." _A voice echoed through her head. Memories of the mysterious man began to fill her mind's eye: their first meeting, the fight at the docks, their chat under the stars, walking along the cliffs, his confession to her.

"Dang it, Youth, why'd you have to bring up Natal? Now I can't get the kid out of my head." Her head seemed locked on that last memory, vividly remembering the details of the event. "And now you got me thinking of his confession. When he finally told me who he really was: his past, his friends, his abilities, his sins, all of it. To think he went through all that, all before he stepped foot in Vale." Another thought crossed her mind, one that really disturbed her. "And why would he ever trust me with that kind of knowledge, either?"

There was a sudden knocking sound that disturbed her thoughts. She looked across the room to see that a wood, brown door had appeared in its center. "What the…" The knocking continued, louder this time.

"Yang?" a male voice shouted from the other side. It was muffled, so she really couldn't tell who it was. "Yang, open up, it's me."

Yang got up and ran across the room, placing a hand on the knob and pulling the door open. A gray, cloaked figure strode into the room, blue-steel great-sword at his side. His short, dark brown hair seemed to flutter in a non-existent wind, and his brown eyes were locked onto hers.

"N-Natal?" she stuttered, confused.

"Hey, Yang." The rogue nodded, a small smile on his face. "Mind if I take a look around?" He gestured to the rest of the room.

Yang blinked furiously at him. "Uh, sure?" she responded, not entirely sure what was going on.

Natal nodded thanks before moving towards the back wall, looking for something. After a moment, he tapped a point on the wall, causing what looked like a drawer to extend from the space. He looked through its contents for a moment before pushing it back to its original place. It seamlessly merged into the wall.

"How are you even here?" The blonde asked, still puzzled.

Natal looked over his should at her. "Didn't I tell you about my training?" he asked.

Yang shook her head, slowly making her way over to her friend. "Yeah, but you said you blocked off stage five after what happened to your sister."

Natal tapped another point on the wall, producing another drawer. "Well, I reopened it when your body began rejecting Ren and Jaune's Aura. Your lungs were filling with blood, so they took some emergency measures. But instead of healing up like normal, your body treated the affected organs like a cancer, attacking them brutally." He closed the cabinet. "It was either this or you died. And I swore an oath to make sure that didn't happen."

Yang nodded, beginning to understand. "Okay. I think I understand what you're saying. But how did you unlock it so fast? I thought you said that it took you the better part of three years to finally be able to use it, let alone master it as you did later on."

Natal chuckled, pulling out a few other cabinets. "Well, it's like riding a bike. I still knew how to do it, but I kept the bike locked up. All I had to do was put in the key, twist, and I was back to where I was before." He pulled a folder labeled "Trust" from one of the cabinets. "Mind if I take a peek?" He asked.

Yang shrugged. "Sure." He flipped through the pages, perusing its contents. "Didn't you say that stage five was like some sort of full-on takeover? You have full access to all of my head's functions and activity, so why do you have to keep asking permission for everything? You could just storm in and change what you wanted about me, right now. What's with all the niceties and such?"

The cloaked man stopped his reading and met her eyes, his face somber as a grave. "You're talking about a forced-manipulation. And although I have the ability to do it, a manipulation is much easier to accomplish if you're cooperative and okay with everything I do. That's why I asked before coming in, before searching through your head, and before I looked through these corrupted memories." He looked back down at the papers, pulling a few out. "Besides, after what it did to Kali, I'm not sure I could ever do that to someone again."

Yang's face mimicked one of confusion. "Corrupt memories? What do you mean?"

Natal handed her the papers he'd removed. She took them, and found they were all recent events she'd experienced. As she read through them, she realized they all dealt with three people in particular: Ruby, Jaune, and Natal. She looked up to her friend, still unsure of what she was looking at.

"You're body's rejecting Aura because it's rejecting all outside influence." He explained. "You've closed yourself off from others because of what's happened between you and Ruby, although you know that you have to be able to trust _someone_, or you'll go insane. That's been where I come in. You've spent so much time with me that it seems that I've become the _only_ person you trust. So, to fix that, I'm going to need to alter some of those memories to help heal your trust issues."

Yang stood there, clutching the papers tightly. "You mean, because of this rift between me and my sis, I'm dying? Because I feel I can't trust her, I've lost trust in everyone else around me, and that's what's going to kill me? Not some stupid wound, or the effects of it, but that when my friends tried to heal me, I couldn't accept it, and am now committing a slow suicide?" She shivered as she realized how deep the accidental wound Ruby caused had gone.

The somber man nodded. "To put it dramatically, yes. You're mistrust of others is what's killing you. But let me help you get over it, and you can be back on your feet in no time."

Yang just nodded, unable to give a response. Natal walked closer to her, placing two fingers at the top of the stack of pages. Slowly, he drew his fingers along the height of the papers. The words on the page began changing ever so slightly before her eyes. Words like "anger" turned to "worry," and "hate" to "hurt." Subtle changes that, on the surface, made little difference.

But on the inside, Yang could feel everything beginning to change drastically. She began to understand Ruby's side of the story as Natal rewrote her view of their last month together. She realized that she hadn't been the only one to suffer from the split between the two, and that Ruby was probably going through something very similar to the turmoil that she was going through. _Though she probably didn't develop a split personality from it, like I have._

She chided herself for being so insensitive to her sister. In all reality, she'd only given the adorable redhead one chance to redeem herself, and that had been when she'd first run off with Jaune. She'd never opened up to the fact that maybe she had never wanted to choose between the two blondes. Maybe Yang had forced the decision on her, after all. Maybe they were both at fault for this, not just Yang or just Ruby.

Yang felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as Natal removed his fingers from the parchment. He gave her a tired smile, which she returned.

"Thanks." She said, a little shyly. _Shoot, Youth might be right._

Natal nodded. "Welcome." He headed towards the door. "I've got to go, Ruby's freaking out over what it physically looks like I'm doing to you."

Yang quickly jumped forward, trying to grab his arm. "Wait!" she shouted as her fingers brushed against his cloak.

Suddenly everything around her faded away as a long string of images flashed before her eyes. A lush forest, a medieval-style castle, twin moons, an old man, and what looked like an army all passed before her. One scene stuck for a moment longer than the others.

A girl with long, flowing brown hair stood in front of her, a smile on her face and a long-sword in her left hand. "Come on, Natal, let's duel!" She said, eyes glinting with eagerness.

"Okay, but only for a few minutes." Yang felt herself say, in Natal's voice. "I've got an assignment coming up, and I need to be out as soon as possible."

The girl giggled. "I'll be sure to beat you real quick, then."

"Oh, you're on!"

The scene moved on to another string of images. A party, a formal occasion, a dark castle, and a group of wickedly armored men appeared. The string suddenly changed to a dark room, where the same girl from earlier was tied to a pole in front of Yang. Her clothes were shredded, barely keeping her decent. Grime and blood covered her skin. Her back, sides, and wrists looked raw. She looked up at Yang, eyes pleading. "Please, just go! Run away, hide! Don't let them find you! They'll only kill you."

Yang looked at her hands. They were covered in steel gauntlets. She opened and closed them, slightly shaking. She quickly looked back up at the girl, jumping towards her, hands aimed at her head. "I can save you!" she shouted, hearing Natal's voice once again.

The world faded away once more. Screams filled Yang's ears as another set of pictures filled her head. A wall covered in blood, hundreds of dead bodies, a fire burning down a town. The face of the same girl, eyes filled with anger and hatred jumped out of the flames. "You betrayed me!" she shouted. "You stole who I was, ruined my life! I will never gain back those years!"

Yang stumbled back. "I was only trying to save you," she pleaded, voice filled with regret. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen! Forgive me!"

The woman lifted her sword, poised to strike. "They say that the past is the past, over and forgotten. But I have no past anymore, and you're the one to blame. I can never forgive you for that." She stabbed at Yang, a bloodlust in her eyes.

Her charge stopped midway, her face contorted in a mixture of pain and confusion. Yang looked down to see a blade had impaled the girl's abdomen. Following the path of the metal, she saw a single, gauntlet-covered hand attached to its hilt. It was _her_ hand.

Yang was suddenly ripped from the vision and back into her little white box. She stumbled back from Natal, head reeling. She put her hands on either side of her face, trying to steady herself. Her heart was racing, her breath shallow. It had all felt so real, so _intense._ She looked up to see Natal staring at her, a mixed look of wonder and horror across his face.

For a moment they just stared at each other, neither finding the words to describe what they were feeling.

"I've got to go." Natal told her before heading towards the door, hand already on the knob. Just before he walked out, however, he paused. "Never speak a word of this to anyone else."

Yang nodded, still trying to comprehend what she'd just seen. "Y-Yes." She stuttered.

Natal walked out, closing the door behind him, leaving Yang to mull over everything that she'd just learned about her friend. As she thought over it all, one thought kept recurring in her head. One thought that would not leave her alone. A thought that would forever change her view of the man.

_He killed her._ She thought. _He tried to help her, and he killed her._

* * *

_BANG! Whir, thud._

_BANG! Whir, thud._

_BANG! Whir, thud._

Jaune stood upright and looked fifty meters away at a small stump that leaned against a tree. After a brief moment of mild surprise, he shook his head and strode towards the makeshift target. As he drew closer, he saw that within the center ring of the trunk were three yellow handles, all attached to blades deeply embedded into the wood. Putting his hand on the first one he reached, he began to wiggle the knife out of the stump until it finally became loose enough to gently remove.

He looked at the blade for a moment. To the average person, it looked little more than a slightly personalized knife. A short blade met a yellow hilt with a short white cross-guard and pommel. On the grip the Arc family crest was emblazoned. But to those who had extensive knowledge of weapon-craft, they would notice the trigger that hid between the guard and hilt, the small opening in the base of the pommel, and the hollow feel of the handle. It was an Enhanced Ballistic Throwing Knife (according to Ruby), one that fired a blast of its user's Aura to increase both the speed and power of the throw.

It was also Jaune's birthday present from Ruby during their first year at Beacon. One day, when he'd begun to feel useless after being beaten by Cardin again during a practice match, he'd gone down to the training complex and threw his weapon, Crocea Mors, to the side. He'd picked up the first thing he found, which happened to be a set of throwing knives, and began chucking them into a target with all his might, taking out his frustration on the practice dummies. After a few tosses, he realized that his throws had always hit the target, and sometimes even near the center. He had begun practicing immediately, and soon was coming to the complex daily to train. Ruby quickly found out about his new hobby, and when his birthday had come around, she'd presented him with a customized trio of knives that she'd made herself. He thought the gift very special at the time, but that was later ruined when Yang had told him that weapons were about the only presents that Ruby ever gave to anybody. Still, he'd appreciated the gesture and had kept good care of them ever since.

Jaune pulled himself out of his nostalgia and removed the rest of the knives, placing them into special sheathes that he'd made for them himself. He picked up the heavy stump and moved it behind the tree. Having successfully put his makeshift firing range away, Jaune began the short journey back to civilization.

He'd found the clearing soon after they had arrived at Arcenus, during a depression-filled walk. After seeing the condition Yang had been in, Ruby falling to tears over her sister, and Natal taking up the medic-position until Pyrrha and Weiss could arrive, Jaune found that he couldn't take any more of the situation. He'd walked out of the town, head down, wandering aimlessly. After a few minutes in the forest, he'd discovered the open space, with the upturned stump leaning against a tree. In an effort to clear his head, Jaune had unsheathed his knives and began practicing, trying to put all of his anger and frustration into the throws. It had been a relaxing experience, to say the least.

Finally reaching the small town, Jaune thought he heard something like giggling off to the side. He turned to see the sound was emanating from behind one of the buildings. Silently, the blonde snuck up to the corner of the establishment. _Why am I even doing this? _He thought to himself. _I'm not the spying kind of guy, so why am I being so stealthy?_

Taking a peek around the corner, he saw a sight that he never believed possible. He quickly ducked back in surprise. _Was that… No, it couldn't be. H_e took another look, this time keeping his gaze locked on the scene before him.

Velvet stood next to a toppled pile of logs, looking bruised and a little worse-for-wear. Next to her was Russel Thrush, one of her many bullies from Beacon. Velvet was smiling shyly at him, a gesture which he returned. They were holding hands. Jaune guessed that Russel had just pulled her from under the lumber. The rabbit Faunus stood on her tiptoes, giving the Mohawk-headed kid a peck on the cheek.

Jaune heard a small gasp from behind him. He turned to see Weiss standing behind him, watching the scene unfold. "What are you doing here!" He whispered, surprised.

The heiress gave him an annoyed. "I could ask the same of you." She spouted, keeping her voice down.

They both turned back to the newly-discovered couple as Velvet bounded in her direction, leaving a happily surprised Russel to wander off in another direction. Weiss and Jaune leaned into the wall, trying to hide from the Faunus as she came towards them. Luckily, she was too preoccupied with the Huntsman to have noticed her stalkers, and walked right past them. Weiss jumped out at the girl, grabbing her arm and pulling her against the wall.

"Nyah!" She shouted, surprised by the sneak attack.

Jaune stood there, shocked. "Weiss, what the heck are you doing!"

The girl gave him a worried look. "Quiet! We don't want the whole town to hear!" She turned back to her captive, whom she had released from her grip but stayed against the wall, somewhat afraid. "Now, Velvet, could you please explain to me what we just saw."

The Faunus looked at her feet, embarrassed. "The logs fell on me as I stacked them for Hei. He always has us doing jobs for him. Russel heard the noise and ran to help me out. After he pulled me away, I thanked him before I left."

Weiss scrutinized her friend. "I think you did more than just thank him."

Velvet shuffled her feet. "It was only a peck…" she whispered.

"So, you like him?" the platinum blonde stated.

Jaune blinked at her. "Is that what you kidnapped her for?"

She pointed a finger at him. "Hey, it's not abduction if she doesn't resist!" She turned back to her interrogation. "Velvet, Russel's a bully. Always has been, always will be."

Jaune lifted a finger. "Uh, Weiss."

She ignored him. "If you like him, that's okay, but don't encourage a relationship. He'll probably turn into one of those horribly abusive boyfriends that you can never really escape."

"Weiss."

"He won't change who he is. No matter how much you try to, it will never work. That team CRDL is a bunch of insufferable jerks who will always be up to no good."

"Weiss, you're kinda missing something important."

"I'm just saying that you should rethink your taste in men. That is all." The heiress turned to Jaune. "What is so important that you had to rudely interrupt my monologue?"

Jaune pointed to Velvet. "She never actually said that she liked Russel, you know."

Weiss blinked at the statement, a blank expression on her face. She mouthed an 'o' before turning back to the Faunus. "Sorry?" She shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Velvet shook her head. "It's fine." She said quietly. She continued to look at her feet.

"So, do you like Russel?" Jaune asked.

The Faunus waved her arms frantically. "No, it's nothing like that! I-I mean," she calmed down and just shook her head. "No, we're just friends."

Weiss pushed the issue. "So, who do you like then?"

Velvet's eyes grew wide and her mouth shrank into a thin line. Her legs and arms locked and she quickly folded her hands together, nervously twiddling her thumbs. She looked extremely uncomfortable, in Jaune's opinion. "U-Uh…" She stuttered.

"Come on, it's not that difficult a question. If it's not Russel, then who do you have a crush on?" Weiss put one hand on her hip, awaiting a response.

"W-well," Velvet began, her voice shaky. She seemed unable to meet Weiss's gaze. _Shoot, it's not that difficult a question. Just tell her who you like. I mean, it wasn't that hard to tell Weiss who I had a crush on, although telling Ruby was a different story. So I guess telling the person themself is oh my gosh it's her isn't it?_ His train of thought was violently derailed as he realized why Velvet was having such a hard time saying.

"A-Actually," The brunette finally looked at Weiss's icy-blue stare. "It's you."

* * *

**And that is the end of this chapter of our story, my friends! I know, now we have a love square going on! Russel likes Velvet likes Weiss likes Ren! Oh, how the hilarities shall ensue! Oh, and add Nora to the mix and everything goes all wonky! And here I was thinking that a yuri ship would never make it into the series! Oh, how wrong I was!**

**But yeah, besides that, the only other interesting things I've added this chapter are probably the Chekhov's Guns. Brownie points for those who can identify the different ones that I've used throughout the series!**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know it was a bit shorter, and kind of sudden, but I'm trying my darnedest to stick to that new schedule I made for myself! IT WILL BE DONE!**

**Oh, and if you haven't yet, check out my new story (and please leave a comment on it) called Team SABL: The First Step. Yes, it's another OC team fic, but hey, why can't I join in on the fun?**

**Anyways, favs, reviews, and follows all appreciated! So until next time, Hasta luego!**


	10. Identities

**Before we begin, I'd like to state something. After recently figuring out what OOC meant, I'm warning you all (except those who already knew) that all the show's casted characters will be OOC, some much more than others. I'm thinking that the person closest to the show's version is probably either Blake or Nora. Everyone else is already or will become pretty messed up thanks to the destruction of Vale and/or my poor writing. Unless you guys still think they're right on, in which case I guess I'm not as far off as I thought.**

**Also, I'd like to apologize in advance for my crappy writing.**

**Okay, now you can go back to reading (and hopefully enjoying) the story.**

* * *

The feeling of his claws tearing through flesh was far more fulfilling than simply watching as his dogs killed them. The hole that he called his heart filled with satisfaction as he saw the faces of the girl's companions transform to horror. _They see the power I hold over them. Their hope is dwindling. Their lives, their souls, are mine._

He turned back to his handiwork, watching as the limp girl he had struck lay in the laps of the woman she called 'sister.' _She is not your family, she is your superior. We are greater than you could ever be, do not tarnish us with your sentiments of equality._ But the younger girl stared wide-eyed in shock and fear at him. Blood splattered across her face, contrasting brightly with her pale skin. She was unable to move, paralyzed by despair. _Yet, there is always one greater. It would seem that now, that would be me._

He raised his hand again, intending to finish what he had started. "A shame, now there will both your blood on my hands." His claws flashed forwards, only to bounce off of something solid. He stared, confused, at the space between him and his prey.

There stood the Maiden, her white cloak flowing around her. She held up her hand, holding it where he had struck a moment before. "You shall not harm this girl." She snarled. "As long as she lies within the Kingdom, you're power over her has been stripped." She thrust her arm forward. "Now go, scatter!"

He felt a tug on his body. He thrashed wildly, trying to escape as he was forcefully held in his place by her power. The tug grew harder, pulling at the fur that ran along the length of his body. Looking down, he saw as his body began to peel away in shreds, reminding him of black petals. "I am not done here!" he shouted in defiance. "This is not over – I will have my blood!" The world faded before him in a flurry of rose petals white as snow. It filled his vision until it was nothing but a blinding white, then faded into a blanket of darkness that wrapped itself around him, deadening him to the world.

* * *

Weiss Schnee was methodically, rhythmically, forcefully smashing her forehead against wooden bedframe of Fort Ruby. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" She mumbled with every strike. _Really? Me? Oh, why can't things ever go the way they're supposed to?_ The heiress slumped to the floor in a very undignified manner. _Why did she have to find those stupid pictures?_

The woman in question was none other than Velvet Scarlatina, the quiet, cunning, mischievous rabbit Faunus who was two years Weiss's senior. This particular woman had recently stumbled upon a journal of Weiss's, containing some drawings and sketches of a few of Weiss's friends. Suffice it to say that these doodles were quite unbefitting of a member of the Schnee family to have in her possession.

Now, Velvet Scarlatina may have been a quiet, shy individual on the outside, but those who knew her knew that there was something far more sinister under that façade. The Faunus was a clever, manipulative, persuasive character. She used her small and fragile figure – coupled with a false act of helplessness – as a disguise for her true identity. Ms. Scarlatina always got what she wanted, whether through threats, blackmail, or other forms of persuasion. So when she had gotten her hands on Weiss's personal sketchpad, she had immediately confronted the heiress on the manner. Weiss remembered the conversation very well.

"Oh, Weiss-y~" The brunette had popped her head into the RWBY dorm, finding her target alone in the room.

Weiss had her head under her bed, searching for something. She'd jumped at the sudden noise, striking the frame with the back of her head. After a few curses, the girl had looked up to find the Faunus standing in the doorway, body partially hidden behind the wall. She had given Velvet a hesitant look. "Uh, hi Velvet." She had turned back to her bed, scouring the area for her journal, which she worried had made its way into the hands of one of her teammates.

"Looking for this?" Velvet held up a notebook marked with the words "Weiss Schnee," and displaying a quite accurate portrait of the woman's face on its front.

Weiss turned to look at the object. Upon seeing it, her face had drained entirely of color, and a look of mortification had crossed her face. "Where did you get that?" She demanded.

The culprit giggled. "Oh, that doesn't matter anymore." She smirked at the platinum blonde before opening the folder to a random page. She tsked. "You seem to have quite the crush on your quiet friend. Sunsets, beaches, Ferris wheels, so many romantic venues." She flipped a page. "Oh, so cute! Holding hands and smooches. Oh, but this last picture, I don't think the school allows this kinds of art on campus. Naughty girl." She flipped to another random location in the book. "Oh, your team is absolutely breathtaking in swimsuits, and Ruby is simply adorable! Though, I appreciate the later drawings better. Less material in the way."

Closing the notepad, she gave Weiss an impish grin. "Yet, we both know those are only the milder images held within these pages. It would be absolutely embarrassing if these pictures were found in the possession of a certain Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. But, of course, you could get over that rather quickly. I mean, the worst it would do to your image is just prove that you are like every other student here: a teenage girl with teenage thoughts. However, it would turn into quite the fiasco if people knew that these were her personal sketches of her own team and friends. And I'm sure your father would be quite disappointed in his perfect little Princess when he found out."

Weiss had been trying to keep herself composed, but she couldn't stop a shiver from running down her spine. This was not the quiet, introverted girl that they had all known last year. Something was quite different about her know. A gleam of cunning and mischief flashed over her eyes, scaring Weiss a little. She was acting completely out of character. "W-What do you want?" The heiress asked, her voice shaky.

The smaller woman moved to stand right in front of her, lifting one hand to the woman's chin. It was ice cold. "I want a favor. In return for your little book of sketches, and the secrecy of its contents, you're going to be my fall girl."

The younger girl blinked in shock. "Fall girl?"

Velvet let go of the girl, placing the journal in her hands. "Romantic interest is quite common at this school, for whatever idiotic reason. To hide the fact of my lack of one and keep up my image, I'll need someone to bring up if the question ever arises. From now on, that someone will be you. And you have to play along, or the cat's out of the bag." The Faunus smiled at her before walking out of the dorm. "Have a nice day!" She shouted through the doorway before closing the door behind her.

Weiss was jerked from her memory when she felt her back brush against a familiar object. Reaching behind her, she pulled out her private sketchbook. She stared at the self-portrait on the front, studying the smiling girl on the paper. She had no idea how her innocent sketches of her friends had devolved into the disgusting drawings that Velvet had mentioned. Opening it to the first page, she smiled at the four pictures she had drawn of team RWBY, all of them sketches in their full battle attire. Ruby held Crescent Rose behind her back, Weiss held Myrtenaster at her side, Blake whipped Gambol Shroud before her, and Yang simply pulled at her scarf. They reminded her of the innocence that they had all held when they first came to Beacon.

But as she continued to flip through the pages, she watched as the innocence left her art, to be replaced with emotion that had seemed so harmless at the time. There were drawings of her, Ren and Jaune, all somewhat comedic, yet in a way cutely romantic. The farther in she went, however, the worse things got. She had images of her with just about all of her friends: Ruby, Pyrrha, Blake, Nora, and even Yang joined the messed up dance that had been Weiss's ballet of affection. Some were more or less innocent, like holding hands or pecks on the cheek; others were a bit more… passionate. She looked at one of the images of her and Ren. It was nothing more than a picture of the two kissing, but there had been slight details she had placed to infer something more. Blushing cheeks, placement of hands, body language, all of it was there.

Weiss was ashamed. Not only of what she had drawn, but because of the person she had become. The talk with Velvet had revealed a lot about her. She had changed from the girl she had been when she first came to Beacon, and it scared her. _What is wrong with me? I've never known anyone to have such crazed emotions, especially a Schnee. Do I deserve that title? Do I even deserve my friends? They are so kind to me, and nice, and they do try their hardest to deal with me. But what do I do? By day, I berate them and try to make myself look better than them; by night, I draw them in ways that would shame every last one of them._

Picking up a pencil, she turned to the first blank page she could find. She slowly traced the lead across the paper, being careful to get every last detail of the image in her mind. A curve here, a line there, a switchback after that. Finally getting the basic sketch done, she pulled out a box of colored pencils. Gently, she filled in the spaces between the lines, adding vivid detail to her work. She traced the outline in black, solidifying it. Finally, she picked up a light blue pen. In her signature, swirly handwriting, she wrote down a few words at the bottom of the page before closing the journal and placing it under her pillow.

She crawled into her bed, still in her Beacon uniform, and laid down on top of the covers. She stared at Fort Ruby as it slowly swayed back-and-forth above her. Thinking over the day, she felt that she couldn't stand being who she was anymore.

She curled into a ball on her bed, quietly crying herself to sleep. In that moment, she felt as though her friends had been right in giving her that nickname. The Ice Queen Weiss Schnee was, truly, the loneliest of all.

* * *

Over a hundred of miles from Beacon, and a half-dozen or so from the border village of Arcenus, a lone figure sat along the shoreline of the Vytal Bay, leaning against a tree. She stared across the open water, watching the sun slowly crawl towards the surface of the ocean. About a good stone's throw away sat the wreckage of a small boat. Its side was filled with long gashes, the fuel tank was ripped out, and the motor was warped beyond recognition. In one corner, the name of the boat was scrawled in black paint. But the woman paid the label no mind.

She lifted one hand behind her head, and a soft _click_ sounded. A weight seemed to fall from her head as her crimson hair fell loosely around her, released from the bronze circlet that held it up. Said circlet clattered lightly on the ground, ignored by its owner. She closed her eyes before taking a deep, shaky breath. _My life has changed so much already. Why can I – no, why should I – not change with it?_

The sound of footsteps behind her slowly came into hearing. The crack of twigs, the shifting of the sand, the heavy gait – whoever it was didn't care if they were heard. The sound stopped just before it reached her. There was a heavy _thud_, something like cloth rubbing against a coarse surface, and then silence. She opened her eyes and turned to her side to see a familiar blond figure sitting next to her. She immediately turned forward again.

"Hello, Jaune." She said, tiredly.

"Hey, Pyrrha." The man responded. There was a brief silence.

Pyrrha stared at the waves as they crashed against the shore. "What brings you all this way from the rest of the group?" _He could ask me the same thing, though._

He shrugged. "Oh, you know. The drama's beginning to settle in, now that we're not spending every day focused on surviving. Weiss is being her nosy old self again, Ren and Nora are isolating themselves, and the craziness of Natal is kinda getting to everyone. But, with Yang healed up and our supplies full, we'll probably be heading out in a day or two. Hopefully, getting outside of the Kingdom will distract everyone again."

She didn't reply. This drew a sigh from her partner. "Everyone's beginning to worry about you, Pyrrha. No one's seen you since this morning, and you're not one to wander off alone."

"It takes three hours to get here," she finally replied after a momentary pause, "Two if you're in a hurry. So much of the day can be lost in just the trek, ignoring the part that is actually spent on the shore. Why would you waste all that time just to come see me?"

"It's not a waste, Pyrrha." He answered. "You're my partner, so I have to look after you, just as you've looked out for me. It works both ways, you know. And I always have time to help someone in need."

Pyrrha's eyes turned to look at the wreckage of the boat, gaze on the name of the ship. "You… you think I need help?"

Jaune sighed. "Yes, Pyrrha. We all do."

She was stunned by his honesty. "Well, what about Ruby? She definitely needs you more than me right now. She's new to love, Jaune. How do you think she'll react to you going so far out of your way for me, instead of her?" She wasn't trying to be bitter, but she felt that she might have come off as such.

There was silence. "I knew." Was all he said.

Pyrrha blinked, and turned to him. "What?" she asked, confused.

"The whole time. I knew the whole time." He was looking down at his shoes. "I knew, from day one, why you offered to help me train. I knew from then on why you spent so much time around me, trying to get close to me. But I was always afraid to tell you the truth of it. Afraid to tell you that you scared me, that I was afraid of you."

He chuckled. "I was scared of my own partner, because I thought that if I ever, ever loved her, then I would live my life in her shadow. A shadow that I could never escape, no matter what. Because I didn't deserve you, and you deserved better than me. But I never had the guts to tell you, so I said nothing. If I think about it, I realize that I've only made it worse by staying quiet. If I'd told you then, it probably wouldn't have hurt as bad as it did when you first saw me and Ruby together. I'm sorry, Pyrrha, that I wasn't able to do my duty as your partner – as your friend – and come clean with you." He turned to look at her.

"So when you asked me 'what about Ruby,' I knew that she would be fine. She respects the bond that we have as teammates, as partners, and as friends. She found me in a similar state during our first year as you are now. And, as a friend, she helped me through it. So, as a friend, I'll help you."

Pyrrha turned her head away, not wanting Jaune to see that her eyes were beginning to water. "Why are you telling me all this?" _Can't you see that you're only making things more difficult? If you had just ignored me, then I could have gotten over it eventually. But you still care, and that only hurts me more._

"You deserve to know. And I can't just sit by and let you drown in your sadness. Life doesn't always go how we plan it, but we have to learn to make the most of it. We've all lost a lot recently, but some of us have learned to gain from this journey." He stood up, reaching an arm down to help her up. "So, Pyrrha, do you want to just live with the loss, or learn to gain a life worth living?"

The Amazonian stared at the hand, mind completely blank. Slowly, she raised her hand towards his, wanting to grab it so badly. _But then I'd have to accept that I will never get to have the one thing I wanted most at Beacon._ Just before they touched, she hesitated. _Do I want dreams that will never become real, or a reality that I never dreamed of?_

She grabbed his arm, and he firmly grabbed hers. He pulled up, lifting her onto her feet. "Good choice." Jaune told her. He pointed to her tiara, which was still on the ground. "You're forgetting your headpiece."

She stared at the circlet. "Not forgetting," She explained. "Leaving behind. My old life is gone, along with Beacon and Vale. Now, I think it's time to forge a new one." She turned towards the woods, starting the long journey back to Arcenus.

Her partner quickly jumped into step behind her. "So, how was your day Jaune?" she asked casually.

He groaned loudly. "Oh, it's been crazy. It all started when I began to practice my knife throws, again…"

The voices of the two Hunters slowly faded into the sounds of the forest as they left towards their home, leaving the broken remains of the beached ship to rot in peace.

* * *

_Swoosh, CLACK._

_Swoosh, CLACK._

_Swoosh, knock-knock._

_CRANK-CRANK-CRANK._

_BOOM._

_Swoosh, CLACK._

_Swoosh, CLACK._

Michael continued his walk as the heavy door boomed shut behind him. Every sound he made echoed loudly through the stone corridor he was passing through. As he strode forward he felt the hem of his red robe tug slightly as it brushed against the dusty floor. His staff tapped lightly on the ground every other step, creating a rhythmic feel to his motions. He hummed to himself as he took a turn at the end of the hallway.

"…place where we stand outnumbered, where the wolves and the soulless will rise." The robed figure shook his head. "And now those words have come to life." Looking forward, he noticed he had arrived at his destination. Before him stood two colossal doors surrounded by a massive arch. The portal was decorated with dozens of archaic images and scripts long forgotten by the population of Remnant. Sighing, he gently touched the seam with his staff. The doors swung wide, the sound of stone grinding against stone hurting his ears slightly. "I'm getting too old for this." He mumbled to himself.

He stepped over the threshold, letting the doors slam shut behind him. Taking a moment's rest, he observed the space he now stood in. It was quite the large room, probably enough to fit a bullhead or two. The high ceiling held rows upon rows of bright, fluorescent lights. Along the far wall was a massive screen, a satellite image of Vytal currently on display. Along the side walls and in rows across the room were computer terminals. Many were shut down, but the ones closer to the entrance were lit up, showing feeds depicting the ruins of Vale, Beacon, and even a couple of feeds from the border town of Arcenus. Directly in front of him was a curved desk, containing a few holographic pads, a keyboard, and a terminal for scroll access. For being housed in such an ancient establishment, it was quite state-of-the-art.

Of course, he took no interest in these. What captured his attention were the two figures who occupied the room with him. The first was a tall man with a blue shirt and silver armor covering his extremities. His short, black hair shined in the light of all of the different screens in the room. Gabriel was intensely studying the aerial view of the continent, obviously deep in thought. The man next to him, however, seemed dwarfed by his companion. While he may have been taller than most of his peers, he just barely reached the shoulders of the shining knight beside him. He wore a black suit and dark-green scarf around his neck, pants of the same green-hue, and black dress shoes. Tousled, light-gray hair and shaded spectacles adorned his head. His right hand rested on a black-and-silver cane that never left his side, and in his left he held a steaming mug of hot liquid. He casually sipped at his drink.

"I see you are all quite busy at work." Michael commented, taking a place next to Ozpin.

The headmaster grunted, focused on one of the feeds from Arcenus. "With my Academy in ruins, my faculty dead or dying, and the only remaining students currently on a suicidal quest to stop the end of the world, I find little else to occupy my time with." He drummed his fingers on his cane.

"And at least it's interesting." Gabriel said, motioning towards the large monitor. "They've moved to the border, and plan on leaving some time tomorrow. Once they make it into the wilds south of Vale, they'll have a much more difficult time getting here. Lucifer has free reign in that area."

The robed figure shook his head, shaking his snow-white hair. "The journey itself will not be that difficult. It is the things that they will be forced to witness that will deter them. The traitor, the tragedy, and the secret."

The knight scoffed. "I thought that you said that the prophecy was incorrect? That because of _her_ it would all be thrown into disorder?"

"I told you that _you_ were wrong in believing that it was meant to be entirely human. Numbers and race never were truly important in the original script. In reality, however, we had two Warriors, a Faunus, and seven humans – but that number seems to have changed. We've gained a Faunus and two humans. One of them, however, seems to be a Proto-Human. The poor child." Michael stared at a feed of a cloaked figure, sitting alone in a hotel suite. One of the holographic displays powered up and showed a full three-dimensional model of the figure, describing every detail about his history, attire, and attributes. "It's hard to find the courage to save a world, even more so if it's not your own."

Gabriel waved his hand dismissively. "He's one of Kae's men. It's nothing more than should be expected of one of her elites. The real pity lies here." The satellite view zoomed to an area showing Arcenus to the east, a large rocky plain to the west, and forest in between. A pulsating red circle appeared where the woods met the dirt. "Despite what you seem to believe, this event will probably be enough in and of itself to destroy the team."

Ozpin took a loud sip from his mug. "Although I hate to admit it, I'm not entirely sure what you're going on about. Care to explain?"

Gabriel turned his attention to the (relatively) shorter man. "You know of the Serpent's Prophecy?"

He nodded. "An ancient Warrior sealed the first Grimm, the Serpent, in a bottomless pit. When the seal finally breaks, the end of the world will undoubtedly occur. Only a team of Remnant's greatest Hunters can prevent this by going on the final journey to the legendary Warrior's Academy to train as 'Heroes of Remnant.'"

Michael nodded. "True, but do you know of what they will face on this journey?" Ozpin shook his head. "They must overcome three obstacles that have the power to utterly destroy them. The first is a traitor among them, unbeknownst even to himself. He will weaken their unity from within, and finally crush them from without. The second is a tragedy that will befall their leader, crumbling what little hope they still harbor. The third and final is a dark, dark secret that, when discovered, will truly test how much they believe in themselves and their teammates." He pointed back to the screen. "This location has a high probability of showing at least one of the events, if not more."

Gabriel nodded in affirmation. "From what I've gathered, we may have already come across one or two of them. With Yang's mortal injuries, and Natal's – unique – abilities being revealed, it looks as if the tragedy and secret may have already passed."

Ozpin grunted. "It would seem as such, wouldn't it? But let's not rush so quickly to conclusions. I feel that there will be more tragedy to come, and although complete control over someone does seem unnerving, there are far darker secrets that people can hold in their hearts."

"You would be correct." The red-clad figure stated. "There is far greater heartache in store for them, especially their leader. And this secret has a much greater destructive power than any physical ability will ever have on these heroes."

The silver man balled his hands into fists. "Lucifer will not give up, will he? Must he do this to every people he comes into contact with? If they do not at first bow to him, he will destroy them. We must interfere constantly to protect men and women from the darkness that he brings, along with whatever they already harbor within themselves. Yet, in a way he still gets what he comes for. He spreads fear, sows lies, and brings destruction."

Michael reached over to lay a hand on his friend. "Do not give up hope, Gabriel. Though he may get this small victory, he will never win the war."

He let his friend take a deep breath before continuing. "We know that once that Rose learns who she truly is, then the fight for this world will be over for good. And it will also allow Natal to return to his home. There will be losses, yes. There will be hardship, yes. But in the end, they will realize that it was all worth it, and they can live knowing their sacrifices were not in vain."

The knight looked up to his friend. "If that is the case, then let us hope that our Maiden works quickly."

Ozpin took another loud sip, interrupting the conversation. "Ah, yes, you're 'Maiden.' Now, if I could ask you a simple question," he turned to look at he both of them, his face calm but golden eyes deathly serious. "Could you explain to me why this associate of yours bears such a striking resemblance to the long-deceased mother of Miss Rose?"

Gabriel seemed confused by the statement. "What on earth do you mean?" he asked.

"I believe you know _exactly_ what I mean." He drummed his fingers on his cane, silently awaiting an answer.

Michael felt mildly amused by the man's somber demeanor. "Headmaster, while you bring up a very good question, I believe you already know the answer. It's not as if it is difficult to figure out, though. You would know all the details as well as anyone surrounding her death, and it must have struck you quite intriguing how vague it all was. But I believe that even without all of the outside resources and additional information you have acquired over the years, you already knew the truth. You've known it all along. Ozpin, our Maiden and your Summer Rose, these two astounding warriors and brilliant Huntresses, they are one and the same."

* * *

**Woo-Hoo! Yeah, chapter: done! Sorry it took so long, but it's the last week of homework in my summer classes and it's been absolutely killer. I've had almost no time to write between that and my friends suddenly wanting to be social (which, hey, I'm not complaining about). But here I am, and only a day late, too. I'm feeling pretty proud about it, myself. I'm (almost) sticking to my schedule!**

**Oh, and to you yuri shippers, MWAHAHAHA! Yeah, I don't think I can ever take a yuri ship seriously, so I just decided to scrap it. Sorry. If you want to go read a lesbian romance, then here isn't the place. Remember, this story is about what happens when our heroes have life screwed over for them. It ain't about romance (though I seem to be spending a lot of time in/around that area).**

**Now, in terms of upcoming story events, I'm just going to come out straight with you guys: the next four chapters will conclude the Recollection Arc. Yes, this means that the team is finally getting out of Arcenus and getting on with the journey (and I don't have to write more filler while I wait for the right time to move the story! Everyone may now breathe a sigh of relief). These four chapters, which I have codenamed for you guys as Wound, Work, Pain, and Sorrow, are going to be some of the most difficult writing I've done so far. Telling you why would spoil it, so I'm not, but suffice it to say I'm bringing back that sadistic surprise I meant to put at the end of the Inspiration Arc. Also, Note that those codenames are only to keep you guessing at what happens in each one. The real names will be released as the chapters are uploaded. I'd like to see if you guys could guess the names before the chapters actually come out, though.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading my story, and I do hope you enjoyed it. Please, leave a comment or something telling what you thought and/or any constructive criticism (Lord knows how much I need it).**

**Until next time, Adios!**


	11. Blood

Blood. Blood everywhere. Blood and Fire. The flames ate at the place that he'd called home for so long. A lone silhouette stood in the blinding light, standing limply. "Tavor!" He shouted at the shape. "Tavor, get out of there!" But it was no use. The ceiling collapsed on the shape, crushing it. A blast of hot air and fire came towards him, pushing him back.

He looked down at his bloody tunic, singed from the flames and slashed by a sword. He closed his eyes and cried to himself. "TAVOR!" he shouted, but he knew the man wouldn't hear him. He was dead, cut by friendly blades, broken by his own home, and consumed by the flames.

Another figure stepped out of the fire, twin swords in its hands. Its slight frame swayed with each step. It pointed it's swords down and to the sides. There was purpose in each stride, and its eyes glowed with a fiery yellow glint.

He tried to scramble backwards, but it was no use. He could not escape this ghost, this harbinger of destruction. _My destruction, my mistake. Yet because of it, I've lost one of my greatest friends and comrades._ He knew his time was coming to a close, but he could not accept it. Death did not come here, it couldn't, and not by this specter, either. He morphed into a set of iron armor, completely covered except for his head. He scrambled to his feet and shakily drew his greatsword. _I swore I'd never hurt you, but I'm too afraid of death to avoid it. I'm too much of a coward._

She stopped several feet before him, eyes filled with hatred. "AAAAARGH!" She jumped forwards, crossing her blades in front of her. He just barely blocked the slash with the flat end of his sword. Her momentum carried her past him, where she hit the ground and immediately turned back to him. "DIE!" She shouted before charging back at him, swords flashing with killing intent.

* * *

Natal's eyes slowly opened, awakening him to the present. He focused on the ceiling, letting his blurry vision gradually adjust to the morning light. As memories of his dream rushed into his head, he sighed inwardly. _And here I thought that my past would stay there. But even now it continues to haunt me._

Attempted to lift himself up, but he felt something rub against his side. Something in his bed shifted. Turning his head, he saw bright, golden locks poking from under the covers. Beneath the mess of hair lay a girls face, quietly lost in sleep. One arm lay across his bare chest, hand over his heart. Her mouth parted slightly as she slept, twitching every so often. She curled a little closer, a small smile growing on her face as she dreamed.

He quietly moved her arm off him before twisting to sit along the edge. His brown trousers brushed against the floor as he set his feet on the ground. Reaching towards the table next to the bed, he grabbed and donned his favorite brown tunic, the only article of clothing he owned. Silently, he rose and moved to one of the chairs, doing his best not to disturb the sleeping girl. His attire glowed softly before changing into his cloaked Alpha armor. Taking a seat, he watched as she slowly woke to the world around her.

Yang twisted so that she lay on her back. She pushed herself into a sitting position, allowing the covers to fall and revealing that she was still wearing her combat outfit. She looked around the room, confused, until her eyes landed on Natal. She rubbed her eyes, then stared at him again. Realization dawned on her face and she jumped in her seat.

"Wha... How? When...?" She blushed slightly. "Did I..."

Natal smiled. "Morning Yang. How did you sleep?"

She gulped, her color slowly returning to normal. "Um... Well, I guess it was good."

"That's good. I slept quite well, in case you were wondering." He chuckled a bit.

She seemed puzzled by his reaction. "What's so funny?"

Natal shrugged. "Well, it's just that I thought last night I had gone to my suite alone, locked the door, and went straight to sleep. I don't remember you joining me anywhere in that story." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yang, did you break in?"

Her cheeks turned a bright red. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yang." The brunet said, a bit of force in his voice.

She turned her head away from him. There was a brief moment of silence. "I couldn't sleep." She finally replied.

He sighed. "Didn't we just go through a whole meta-physical experience where I helped you learn to rely on more than just me?"

The blonde shifted nervously in her seat. "Yeah..." She put one hand on her head. "I don't really remember much about last night." She changed the subject.

_She really doesn't want to talk about it. Well, I probably shouldn't pry, then. _Natal nodded. "I guess that makes sense. You've only just got out of a coma, after all." He turned to look at the door. "You should probably pack and get ready. We're moving into the wilds today, and Jaune wants us to leave as early as we can." He closed his eyes and leaned back, expecting her to head towards the shower.

"Natal," Yang said hesitantly. He opened his eyes to see her looking at him. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" She asked.

"Of course." He responded casually.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And don't get any bright ideas while I'm here, kid."

He blinked at her, feeling slightly offended, but he let it slide. "I don't think I'm smart enough to have any."

"You always down on yourself?" She raised an eyebrow at him as she brought her legs over the bed frame.

"Only when it's true." He put his hands behind his head. "Also your definition of what an 'idea' is, probably differs from mine."

The blonde pushed her hair back with one hand. "And how might that be?"

"Mine involves tragic heroes, ridiculous weapons, one bad villain, tons of fighting, lots of danger, and a high chance of death."

Yang smirked. "Now that's my kind of idea." She punched a fist into her open palm.

Natal felt his Aura darken. _That's what she used to say. _His expression turned somber as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. "Have you always had a death wish?" He whispered to himself, repeating a conversation he used to often have with an old friend.

A look of realization slowly crossed Yang's face when she heard those words. "I only wish to dance with Death," she said softly. "So that he will find favor in me, and kiss my hand before leaving to prey on another." She looked at Natal, her face a mix of sadness and pity. _No, not pity. Sympathy. _"That's what she told you, wasn't it?"

He hung his head, not wanting her to see the hurt on his face. "Yes, she did. Every time." There was a short pause. "How much do you know?"

"About her? As much you do, thanks to that accident during your manipulation. Her looks, mannerisms, status, origins, I even know what she meant to you." She shook her head. "It's so confusing, too. You were like siblings, but not a single bit of common blood. If I think about it, you even look related. And while she was like a sister to you…"

"…She was also so much more." He finished her sentence. "Imagine, people thought we were twins, but there was no relation, and I was this close –" he lifted a hand to show his index finger and thumb were millimeters apart. "this close – to falling in love with her. Then we were captured."

He hung his head, shamed. "And I was given power over her. The power to judge over the worth of her life, to control it. Not just whether she was dead or alive, no, far more than tha. Her memories, what skills she had, who she loved, her favorite color, everything, I had the power and authority to change." He lifted his hands in front of him. "And I chose to use that power, to protect her." He chuckled darkly. "At least, that's what I told myself. But it only broke her, ruined dozens, if not hundreds of others lives, and prolonged her death to happen at my hand." He shut his eyes tightly. "I forced her to dance with Death, neglecting the fact that she'd forgotten her steps."

Natal felt a hand rest lightly on his shoulder. He looked up to see Yang right in front of him, sitting on the edge of the table. Gone was the shock and sadness from earlier, to be replaced with a fiery determination. Yet, her sympathy was still there. "The past is the past, Natal." She told him. "And nothing will change that. But your here now, on Remnant, on this journey. Move on. And, if you still feel guilty about not protecting Kali, then you can make up for it by protecting us."

He gave her a grateful smile. "You're right. Moping over her won't mean anything if I don't do anything about it." _But I still have to live with the fact of what I did to her. _He focused back on the Huntress before him. _But, like Kali said, we can make up for wrongs by doing right the next time._ "Thanks, Yang."

She squeezed his shoulder, grinning happily. "Well, it's the least I can do after you let me steal your bed." She leaned back and toyed with her hair.

_Gosh, Blake was right._ _I only wish we could have met under better, less temporary circumstances. _He got up from his chair, standing right in front of her. They were still a bit too close for his liking, but there wasn't much space to move, anyways. He motioned towards the restroom. "Go get ready. We're to meet in front of the armory once we've gathered up all our belongings, then we're heading out."

He was caught by surprise when Yang lifted herself onto her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. He stared straight ahead, breathing stopped, locked in place. "Uh." He grunted.

"That's for not having any ideas." She quickly walked into the washroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.

Natal blinked before slowly letting out the air in his lungs. He touched a finger to his cheek, feeling the place where the blonde had kissed him. He turned towards the restroom door, staring at it. He heard the water turn on and sputter against the walls of the shower. His hand was still on his cheek.

He sighed inwardly, a bit of guilt beginning to settle in. "Harder." He whispered, to no one in particular.

* * *

Ruby shivered in the cold morning air. Really, it didn't bother her that much, but it happened to be just the right temperature where the cold was still tolerable, but her body was involuntarily trying to heat itself. She pulled her cloak closer around her, trying to keep out the chill. She looked towards the mountains east of them, watching as the cloudy sky began to slowly glow brighter. _It's a bit colder than normal. _She mused. _It's usually pretty warm by now. Must be those clouds._

The sound of footsteps crunching on the dirt road got her attention. She turned to find Jaune walking towards her, duffel over his shoulder. He smiled once he noticed her attention on him. She smiled back.

He moved next to her. "Natal will be here in a moment."

She looked up at him. "What'd he say?"

Jaune shrugged. "He said he had something to do first." He looked around. "And since Yang isn't here yet, I'm guessing she's involved." He shivered. Though, whether it was from the cold or something else, Ruby wasn't sure.

"They'd better hurry up." Weiss whined, anxious to get moving. "We don't have all day, and this cold is beginning to get under my jacket."

Ruby gave her partner her best "seriously?" face, but couldn't stop a smile from forcing its way through. The group stood in a large circle, awaiting the arrival of their tardy comrades. Pyrrha, Ren, Cardin, Blake, Russel, Nora, Velvet, they were all here. Weiss stood directly to Ruby's right, hands tightly gripping her arms.

"Ice Queen doesn't like the cold, huh?" Jaune commented, crossing his arms. "Who'd of guessed?"

Weiss glared at him, looking ready to launch a retort. But instead she just sighed and kept shivering. "Shut up." She looked at the ground. "What's taking them so long?"

Pyrrha combed a hand through her newly loosed hair. "I'm sure it's nothing." She looked at the entrance of the inn down the street. "I just wonder why Yang's with him."

"I wouldn't worry about her." Blake shifted her weight to a more comfortable position. "She's probably just thanking him for bringing her out of a coma."

The older redhead nodded. "You're probably right."

The huddle turned when they heard the loud creak of the inn door opening. Out stepped Natal and Yang, both carrying large bags on their backs. They quickly made their way towards the others, Natal with an emotionless expression and Yang with a big smile. Ruby raised an eyebrow at her sister, who only gave her a toothy grin in response.

"Alright, where to?" The new arrival asked, that smile seemingly unable to drop.

Jaune gave her a wary look. "Um, are you okay, Yang?"

Natal shifted his pack. "She's fine. Just... excited to get going." He gave the group a reassuring smile.

Yang's fingers twitched. "Let's get out of here and get outside the Kingdom. I haven't had a good fight in over a week, and I'm dying to kick some ass."

Ruby blinked at her sister before letting a similar smile grow on her mouth. "Well then, let's head out! We're burning daylight, people!"

She turned to the west and took a few steps forward before hearing the rest of the group follow suit. Jaune jogged to her side, beginning to match her step. They strode side by side for a while, even after they passed under the canopy of leaves just outside the town. She glanced at her boyfriend as they walk.

He'd really changed since they'd first started up the quest. His jeans were tattered and stitched together in multiple places. His hoodie was worn and faded, now looking more of a dark gray than black. His armor was dented in places, scratched in others, and had chips along the edges. Even after they'd found the armory, he wouldn't let them fix it for him. He insisted that the marks should stay there. He had never explained it to the blacksmith, but Ruby knew that he identified them as marks of heroism, something he'd wanted since he first stepped foot in Beacon over three years ago.

His face also bore some new additions. Short stubble covered his jaw, too low to tell that it was blond, but tall enough to cast a shadow on his face. A short, thin scar crossed his left cheek from his fight with Ruby against Lucifer. His blue eyes no longer held the nervousness and doubt present when she had first met him, instead to be replaced by determination and confidence. His mouth was pressed into a thin line as he thought, giving him a hardened, serious tone.

She elbowed him, disturbing his thought process. He turned to her as she gave him a slightly worried look. "You okay?" She asked. He wasn't normally so quiet, and it made Ruby feel a little scared for him. She wasn't used to him like this, she wanted her best friend, Jaune, back. _Because that's what kind of relationship romance is: the best of friendships._

Jaune gave her a big smile. "Yeah, I'm good." He turned forwards. "Just thinking about how it's gonna be once we make it to the Wilds. I've never been outside the Kingdoms, but I hear its pretty rough."

Ruby looked at some of the trees she was passing by, absently appreciating the little warmth that the canopy above them kept in the forest. "I went outside, once."

The blond turned to look at her in surprise. "You did?"

She nodded. "Nearly four years ago, when I went to visit Mom's grave. I acted so big and mature then, trying to impress her. Even when I got surrounded by Beowolves, I was more... professional, I guess. But when I went back to her grave, I saw her hovering over it, like a ghost." She put one hand in front of her, finger splayed out. "She just stood there with her back towards me, like she was focused on something else far ahead of us both."

She shook her head, bringing herself off her tangent. "But that doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is that the Wilds aren't that bad. I mean, I took out those Beowolves without so much as a scratch."

Jaune did some counting on his fingers. "So you were..." His eyes widened a bit when he did the math. "You were just fourteen!"

She turned her head, and her feet did a little skip. "Yeah." Silence followed.

She caught Jaune stealing a peek at her as they walked. She twisted her head to look at him, to which he looked away and began humming a tune to himself. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Ruby?" He tried to get her attention.

It worked. "Hmm?" She responded, turning back to him. He looked a bit hesitant.

"Have you been sleeping alright?" He asked.

She thought about it. "Actually, I have." She said with a smile.

He grew a bit more serious. "Nothing? No dreams of Michael or Lucifer? No nightmares, no meetings, nothing at all?"

She frowned as he went down the list. "Now that you mention it, I haven't had any of those in a long, long time."

Jaune nodded slowly. "Just as I thought."

She gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"When did they stop?" He shifted the duffel's strap on his shoulder. "The dreams about them, when did you stop having them?"

Ruby tried to remember exactly when. "I think it was the night before we got to Arcenus."

"Same here." He looked deep in thought as he spoke. "That was the night before we got attacked, too, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That's right. What about it?"

He sighed. "What if… What if those two events are related?"

She blinked at him. "Huh?"

"Think about it. We stop having dreams about that freaky guy, and the next day he shows up trying to kill us. And we haven't had even a hint of him in our sleep since."

"Yeah, so?" She didn't really see the connection. "It's probably just coincidence."

Jaune shook his head. "Okay, yeah, it seems like it, but I don't think so. It's too convenient for him, versus if we still had the dreams. We saw the destruction of Vale through his eyes. We knew what he was thinking, what he was planning. If we had a dream like that before we made it to town, we might have known about the ambush."

She was beginning to grasp what he was saying. "Okay…"

"And if the dreams continued, and he was still planning something, then we'd know about that too. But the dreams have stopped, and so has any info we have on what he's doing." He shook his head again. "Of course, it could just be coincidence, but it's an awfully helpful one, for them, that is."

Ruby shrugged. "Okay, so what about it?"

Jaune gave her a confused look. "Huh?"

"Well, let's say you're right, and the dreams stopped on purpose." She raised her hands in the air. "What does that change? We still have to go through the Wilds, we still have to get to the Academy, and we still have to beat Lucifer."

Jaune put a hand to his chin, rubbing his stubble. "I don't know, I've just got a bad feeling about it."

Ruby was suddenly barreled over as a grey-and-green blur rushed past her, shortly followed by brown-and-gold. "Hey, wait up!" one of them shouted.

The redhead stopped and shook her head, reorienting herself. She watched as Russel and Velvet ran ahead of them, laughing and shouting. They looked like they were chasing each other.

"GET BACK HERE!" Weiss appeared next to Ruby, her shout nearly giving the younger girl a heart attack.

"Weiss!?" The white-haired girl ignored her, her face drooping and shoulders slouching a bit.

She groaned. "Oh, that insufferable little runt! I'll show her just what happens when you lie to a Schnee." She pulled her sleeves up a bit, beginning to stomp after them.

Jaune grabbed her arm. She turned, partly shocked, partly annoyed. "What's going on?" He asked.

The heiress huffed and crossed her arms. "Velvet Scarlatina was made a fool out of me. She completely lied about being interested in me, she was trying to avoid the real issue, here!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Ruby flailed her arms, trying to get their attention. "Am I missing something? Velvet said she liked you? What?"

"Oh, yeah." Jaune scratched the back of his head. "I forgot to tell you, but we found Russel and Velvet alone together, and Weiss interrogated her about it."

The heiress twisted her head away, holding her chin high. "It was necessary."

"Kinda forced the truth out of her." Jaune continued. "She confessed to Weiss before running off. Hehe, you should have seen the look on her face." That earned a glare from the Ice Queen.

Ruby turned to Weiss. "And you're mad because you just learned it was a lie?"

"I saw her kissing Russel just a moment ago! I called her out on it, and the two miscreants ran off, laughing the whole time!" She was getting visibly angrier by the second.

The scythe-wielder raised an eyebrow. "So, you're jealous?"

She smiled as Weiss realized what she had just said. Her cheeks went bright red and she quickly shut her mouth and clenched her fists. "I'm not jealous!" She asserted, stomping a foot for emphasis. "I just hate it when people think that they can lie to me and get away with it." She crossed her arms once again and huffed. "I don't even like girls." She added, to clarify.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, Weiss, I was just kidding. We know you like Ren, instead." She faked a punch on the girls shoulder. "Calm down a bit."

Jaune chuckled at her reaction. "Take a chill pill." This earned him yet another ice-cold glare from the heiress. "What?"

"Chill pill? Really?" Ruby facepalmed.

The blond, however, just stared at her blankly. Then he realized his own pun. "Oh, huh. Wasn't even trying."

Weiss put a hand on the bridge of her nose, followed by an exasperated sigh. Ruby just giggled at her boyfriend, who shrugged and resumed walking. She quickly moved into step beside him, soon followed by her partner. The trio walked in silence for a few moments, savoring the joyful atmosphere. _We should enjoy it while we can. _Ruby thought. _There won't be as much free time and fun once we get out of Vale._

She shook her head, mentally slapping herself. _Stop it, Ruby. Everything is going to be fine. Even with Cinder's gang, Yang was the only one hurt by Lucifer. Now that we've defeated them, I doubt the same will happen._ She looked at Jaune, noticing the confidence and purpose in his stride. _And we're stronger, now. All of us. We'll be just fine._

_We'll be fine, right?_

* * *

Jaune spotted the edge of the forest in the distance. At first, his stomach did a flip and a sense of dread filled him. _This is it. A few more steps, and I'll have left the safety of the Kingdom. We'll be in the Wilds, the most dangerous place on the planet._ He drove the thoughts away with a shake of his wrists. His fingers flexed, inching closer to his sword. _Oh, screw that. Ruby said we'd be fine, so we'll be fine. Besides, I'm a Hero now, just like my father, my grandfather, and his father before him. But I should still be cautious._

Excitement flooded through his veins as he thought about that. All he'd wanted his entire life was to be someone heroic and noteworthy, just like the rest of his family. It was why he'd taken such a big risk and gone so far to enter Beacon Academy all those years ago. But now becoming a hero wasn't his biggest concern, most of all he wanted to become strong enough to protect his friends. It was the first thing he'd thought when he saw Ruby lying on the ground in Beacon's courtyard, when Pyrrha had come to his rescue in the Emerald Forest, and as he met and made even more friends the desire grew only greater. _I have to protect them. I have to protect them all. Being a Hero is all well and good, but what if it isn't enough? What if I that I can't help them? What will I do then?_ He thought of Ruby dying before his eyes, and he unable to save her. He refused to accept the image. _I won't. I just won't let it happen. If I'm not strong enough, then I'll become stronger._

He had been so caught up in his introspection he hadn't noticed how far he'd walked. He bounced right off of Russel Thrush, who had suddenly appeared in front of him. The two staggered, off-balance because of the collision. "Oh, sorry!" The blond shouted, mentally chiding himself for dropping his guard. _Did all that training with Pyrrha teach me nothing?_

He noticed that Russel wasn't responding. Jaune moved in front of him. "Uh, Russel?" Still nothing. He waved a hand in his face, searching for some sign of life. He was sorely disappointed. As he was considering slapping the man to bring him back into reality, he felt something tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Ruby, deadpan, with one finger on his shoulder, the other pointing ahead. Jaune looked in that direction and gasped.

They stood at the very edge of the forest, where the trees and grass met rocky plain. The flat land went on for miles, running parallel to the ocean farther north. Rock cliffs and large boulders dotted the landscape. Grass grew in the cracks between the stone, all brown and dry. It looked desolate, though Jaune imagined that it had to look better during the rainy season. But the drastic change in scenery is not what caught his attention.

About ten meters away stood a tall man in bright, shining silver armor. His white hair was rustled lightly by the wind of the plain, and his silver eyes shined in the noon sunlight. He had no weapons on him, nor made any threatening gesture. He just stood there, his face devoid of emotion as he looked at the Hunters before him.

Then the man smiled, his body relaxing. "Ah, so you must be the Heroes I've heard so much about!" He crossed his arms behind his back. "Wow, you really are something. My name's Metaschem." He placed one hand against his chest. "I'm here to guide you to the Academy." Jaune's eyes narrowed. His Aura felt strange, like it was unnatural, and something about his voice was off. It sounded familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on where he'd heard it before.

Russel's eyes widened in excitement. "Really? You mean you're gonna help us through the Wilds?"

Metaschem nodded. "I'll be making the journey easier on you all. You've gone through a lot recently, and I'm sure you'd like the break."

Russel nearly jumped forward, but Jaune put out an arm to stop him. He gave the former bully a stern look before turning back to the strange man. "How'd you know we were going to the Academy?"

"Michael sent me." The armored figure took a few steps forwards. "Besides, why else would you be leaving the Kingdom of Vale by foot? Most inter-kingdom travel is done by boat or airship. Those who travel by foot head farther South where there are less Grimm. Taking the Northern Path is no longer considered a safe route of travel, and it happens to pass right by the Academy."

"Jaune, what are you doing?" Ruby's loud whisper carried a hint of annoyance. "He's trying to help us! The guy who gave us the letter, Michael, sent him, and Michael's against Lucifer. He's not going to hurt us."

"Just being cautious." He turned back to Metaschem. "What are you gonna do to help us? The instructions we were given said nothing about being offered help along the way."

The man shrugged. "I'm a Gibbor, a Warrior. I was literally born to fight Grimm and people like Lucifer. It's my sole purpose in life. I'll slay Grimm in your path, like the Stalker nests and Taijitu pits. In fact, I've been ordered to take out most Grimm for you, leaving you to only have to deal with Beowolves and Ursi, which I'm sure you can handle. And about the instructions," he gave Jaune a smile that set him slightly off guard. "They never said you couldn't accept help, did they?"

"No, they didn't." Ruby piped up before Jaune could reply. "So we'll gladly accept yours."

Jaune felt somewhat confused. "Ruby, What the heck? I thought you said that we'd be fine on our own?" _Didn't she? Didn't she say that we'd be alright? Why's she suddenly trying to get help, I thought we could do this?_

"We need him." She said, looking into his eyes. Her silver pair was full of both worry and determination. "I may have been fine all those years ago, but now that I think on it I know that it won't be the same. We lost Ren's arm to a single Deathstalker, and Yang was nearly killed by a single blow from Lucifer. Here in the Wilds we'll be facing dozens of Grimm at once at any given time, and Lucifer could appear just as randomly. We need the extra muscle."

Jaune turned towards the forest. Most of the group had arrived during their talk, and were watching their leaders debate back-and-forth. But none of that bothered Jaune, as it would have years ago. What bothered him was that he had a hunch, and if he didn't act on it he could end up hurting all of his friends. He tried to rack his brain for a way to solve his paranoia and figure out whether this Metaschem, this Warrior, was their friend.

He finally moved to face the armored man, who was standing with his arms crossed, looking somewhat amused. "What proof do you have that we can trust you?" He asked.

"I already told you, Michael sent me." The man stared at Jaune, obviously finding the question somewhat funny. "What else do you need?"

"Anybody can just say that. If you _were_ to be an enemy, you'd probably already know who sent us on this mission. In which case, we'd need more than just your word."

The silver-eyed man raised an eyebrow. "Do I even look like one of Lucifer's henchmen? They all look like Grimm, don't they?"

"As the old saying goes, 'even devils can disguise as angels.' Appearance can mean nothing."

Metaschem raised his hands up. "I'm unarmed! Why would I be here to hurt you if I didn't bring a weapon?"

Jaune put one hand on Crocea Mors. "Why would you be here to protect us if you didn't? Seems kind of sketchy, if you ask me. Although, Lucifer never used a weapon when he fought us. In fact, he's the only person I've ever met who fought purely bare-handed. Just Semblance and Aura." He pulled the blade up an inch. "Strange that you'd

Metaschem frowned. "Damn you, worm." He raised an arm towards Jaune, who was already moving. Sharp black rock jutted from the ground where he'd stood a moment before. _Thank god I was expecting that._

The armored figure faded out of existence, to be replaced with the familiar pitch-black character with bone armor. "I knew I should have disposed of you immediately once we first met. I will not make that mistake again."

A long row of massive shards arose a ways behind Lucifer, quickly moving forwards and encircling the group of Hunters. Each spire was at least a meter thick and five tall. The open space in the center reminded Jaune of a large fighting arena, like the ones they dueled in during the Vytal Festival. Another spire rose in the center, carrying Lucifer up with it.

Everyone drew their weapons except for Velvet and Russel, who stood rooted in place. "Guys, move!" Natal shouted, running along the edge of the circular area. Immediately, everyone began to move wildly, jagged spikes jutting from the earth every so often. Jaune was lucky enough to have already moved out of the center of the action, and took the time to survey the situation.

Lucifer stood upon the center spire, sending up shards every so often to keep the Hunters moving. Natal, Cardin, and Pyrrha were running along the outer edge, looking for an exit. Ruby, Blake, and Nora were attacking the center pole, trying to topple the structure. Yang, Weiss, and Ren were trying to take out spires as they came up, stopping them from causing too much damage to their teammates. Velvet and Russel were still standing where they'd been left, but something seemed different about them. They seemed, pale. Almost…

Jaune ran as fast as he could towards the duo, dodging the numerous spikes rising between them. "Russel! Velvet!" He shouted, trying to get their attention. Russel turned to him, a blank look on his face. He'd barely registered Jaune's words. He seemed lost, his eyes focused on a point far beyond the scrawny knight rushing towards him.

He suddenly jerked his head back and arced his chest forward. His eyes grew wide with fear and dread, his mouth opened into a silent scream that everyone seemed to hear. His body lifted from the ground a foot or so. A thick, red liquid spattered across his face. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Jaune watched Russel's body become impaled by a jagged black shard. Blood dribbled down from his shoe onto the stony earth, forming a pool below him. The front end of the spike was a sickly deep red. For a moment, Russel tensed up tightly, then his entire body relaxed and he stopped moving.

Velvet stared at the lifeless form of her friend. "Russel?" She said shakily. She grabbed a leg, shaking it back and forth. "Russel, say something. Russel?" Tears streamed down the Faunus's eyes. "Russel, don't go. Don't go." Her voice got softer and softer as she spoke. She fell onto her knees, her arms going limp. Her eyes never left his body. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me." She closed her eyes and put her head against his foot. His blood ran down her face. "We've only just become friends. We've gotten closer, we will get closer. Just stay here, Russel." Her tears mixed with his blood. "Stay here."

The action had stopped all around the arena. Shards slowly sank back into the ground as everyone watched the horror before them. Lucifer's pedestal slowly dropped to the ground, where he stepped off and walked towards the gruesome scene. He stood right before the two, first looking at Russel's dead form, then to Velvet. She slowly turned her head to look up at him, a pleading look on her face.

"Do not worry." He told her. "You shall join him soon enough." He brought his foot up into her face, kicking her back several meters. She landed on the ground with a dull _thud_ and didn't get up.

Jaune couldn't believe what he was seeing. _He wasn't nearly this powerful when we fought him last time. Was he holding back? Is this what he's really like?_ His legs were shaking, and his hands were getting sweaty. _How are we supposed to defeat him?_

Lucifer turned to the remaining Hunters, his silver eyes gleaming with cold purpose through his mask. "The first Hero has fallen. Now, you too shall join him." With that he raised his hand, spread out his fingers, and all Hell broke loose.

* * *

**Sorry I'm late… again. Okay, I know that my writing hasn't been improving, and that the story probably isn't as intriguing as it once was, but I'm trying my best, alright? As long as you understand that, then we're good.**

**Alright then, let's get to business. I know I suck at these A/N's so I'll make it snappy. Quick summary: Yang's crush on Natal has gone up a bit, somehow he can play it cool, and now you know the strange relationship between him and his "sister." The S.S. Arse has calmed down a bit, although it's still obviously floating. Weiss didn't play along with Velvet's romance how she was supposed to, though the Faunus really didn't care as much as Weiss thought she would. Jaune finally believes that he is a hero after three years of doubt, but finds that he still wants to grow stronger. My mini-romance between Russel and Velvet was brought to an untimely end, and now Lucifer can disguise as a Warrior like Michael. Fun, fun, and more fun! **

**In preface of the next chapter, I'd like you all to ask yourselves a question: When it seems that there is no escape, when the light is swallowed by the dark, when hope fades into nothingness, when all that you have is stripped from you, what will you cling to? Your power? Your skills? Your intellect? Your strength? Your identity? I know my answer. Do you?**

**Reminder: Next chapter's codename is Work, so keep that in mind as you think about what's coming up for our Heroes.**

**Hope you enjoyed the story, and that I've provoked your thought. Reviews appreciated, both love and hate. Until we meet again, Adios.**


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